Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line: North of England

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of High Speed Two on levels of economic activity in (a) the North of England, (b) Yorkshire and the Humber and c) Haltemprice and Howden constituency.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 will offer faster, more frequent and more reliable travel between cities and areas of the UK and will increase capacity on our congested railways. The eastern leg of Phase Two of HS2 will connect Yorkshire to the West and East Midlands, and Transport for the North is exploring options to make use of the HS2 line for faster services between Leeds, York and Newcastle, improving links between regions that are home to around 11 million people. HS2 will increase the number of skilled workers that businesses based in Yorkshire can access. It will allow businesses to collaborate with supply chains and research and development partners, draw on a deeper pool of skills, access new sources of finance and support networks and secure new customers in regions across Britain. Yorkshire’s thriving digital and technology sector stands to benefit from this improved access to investors and support networks, ranging from firms specialising in health technology, Big Data and FinTech in Leeds to businesses in Sheffield and Rotherham with expertise in data management and analytics and in telecommunications. The WYCA and Leeds City Region LEP are developing a HS2 Connectivity Strategy that sets out how to support additional jobs that are forecast to be created across the city region, with 25,000 of these located in Leeds City Centre. Passengers from Hull will have access to conventional services to Leeds, which will allow onward connections using HS2 services to Birmingham and London.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Yorkshire and the Humber

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to ensure Yorkshire has good transport links to the proposed HS2 route.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Officials are working closely with Leeds City Council and the city region and Sheffield City Region to ensure Yorkshire has good transport links to the proposed HS2 route. To support this, I provided Leeds and Sheffield city regions with funding to prepare Growth Strategies. These growth strategies cover how transport links will spread the benefit of HS2 across Yorkshire. Furthermore, Yorkshire will be at the heart of the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail network with stations in Leeds, Sheffield, York and Hull boosting connectivity across the north of England.

Roads: Yorkshire and the Humber

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department has allocated for road improvement works in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) the Haltemprice and Howden constituency.

Jesse Norman: The funding provided by the Department for Transport for local highway maintenance to East Riding of Yorkshire Council and for highway authorities which fall within the Yorkshire and the Humber area since 2010 is shown in the table below. This includes an additional £4.8 million allocated this financial year to East Riding and a further £42 million for Yorkshire and the Humber for local highways maintenance. YearFunding StreamEast Riding £MYorkshire and Humber £M2010/11Highways Maintenance Block9.26495.490June 2010Severe Weather1.0118.670March 2011Severe Weather2.42020.9002011/12Highways Maintenance Block9.92187.5622012/13Highways Maintenance Block9.47984.4122013/14Highways Maintenance Block (including top up)10.83293.739March 2014Wet Weather1.30210.3562014/15Highways Maintenance Block (including top up)9.89982.7562014/15Pothole Fund2.56515.8022015/16Highways Maintenance Block11.04793.5962016/17Highways Maintenance Block (including incentive element)10.74691.0492016/17Pothole Action Fund0.6905.2202017//18Highways Maintenance Block (including incentive element)10.76691.1182017/18Pothole Action Fund1.52612.4422017/18Flood Resilience Fund0.6104.9812018/19Highways Maintenance Block (including incentive element)10.75590.6772018/19Pothole Action Fund0.6425.2432018/19Budget £420 million4.89742.090Total 108.372936.103

Offshore Industry: North Sea

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of UK seafarers employed on offshore (a) supply and (b) accommodation vessels chartered by oil and gas companies for North Sea operations in 2018.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The UK issues Certificates of Competency and Proficiency to UK seafarers against the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978. As these qualifications are not sector specific to (a) supply or (b) accommodation vessels, and the vessels operating within this region are registered to Administrations based around the world, it is not possible to provide an estimate of UK seafarers operating on these types of vessel in the North Sea.

Crossrail: Finance

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Heathrow Airport Limited on that company's contribution towards the funding of Crossrail.

Andrew Jones: DfT is working with Heathrow Airport Limited and Transport for London to finalise the arrangements to enable the payment of the £70m Heathrow contribution towards the project. Crossrail Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London.

Trailers: Registration

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of trailer registration charges on the operations of the haulage sector.

Jesse Norman: An impact assessment was carried out on the effect of introducing a trailer registration requirement and was published alongside the Trailer Registration Regulations 2018. The cost to business and private users of large non-commercial trailers was assessed as follows:-Familiarisation costs estimated at a one-off cost at £7 per trailerTrailer registration fee expected to be no more than £28 (one-off cost) per trailer and since confirmed at £26Registration plate at an average cost of £16 from private suppliersTrailer users will benefit from avoiding enforcement costs that may otherwise be incurred during international travel. Overall the benefits of the scheme are expected to be much greater than the costs and this scheme has been broadly welcomed by industry.

Aviation: EU Countries

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with airlines on additional charges to fly from the UK to EU member states after the UK has left the EU.

Jesse Norman: The Secretary of State and officials from the Department have and will continue to engage with stakeholders from across the aviation industry on all issues relating to EU Exit.

Public Transport: Standards

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase customer satisfaction in (a) rail and (b) other forms of public transport.

Andrew Jones: Customer satisfaction is an absolute priority for the Department. In rail, we are investing £48 billion to help modernise the network and deliver significant improvements in performance, punctuality and capacity across the country. We are upgrading the East Coast and Great Western Mainlines and introducing brand new trains across the network with orders for over 7,800 new carriages placed since 2010. We have also introduced new measures on compensation, an independent rail ombudsman and commissioned an independent root and branch review of the railway. Buses already enjoy high customer satisfaction with the latest Transport Focus Bus Passenger Survey revealing that almost nine out of ten passengers saying they are satisfied with their bus service. The Bus Services Act 2017 introduced a number of new tools to help local authorities improve local bus services. Through partnership arrangements we have enabled local authorities and bus operators to work constructively to provide better services for passengers.

Public Transport: Fares

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps to prevent continual fare increases in public transport; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: In regard to rail, the Government regulates around one third of all rail fares to protect passengers that rely on trains to get to work from high fare rises. Since 2014, these regulated fares have been capped at inflation. We want fares to be linked to the more commonly used CPI measure of inflation in the future but, to be sustainable, income and costs to the rail industry, including staffing costs, must change in parallel. The Secretary of State has therefore written to the rail industry and the unions, asking for their help to move rail from RPI to CPI, to reduce costs so that savings can be passed on to passengers. In regard to buses, in order to mitigate fare increases the Government provides £250 million to support bus services through the Bus Service Operators Grant, with £43 million paid directly to local authorities. In real terms, annual total net support for bus services since 2010/11 has averaged 23 percent more than in the 1996/97 to 2009/10 period.

Driving: Older People

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that older drivers are fit to drive.

Jesse Norman: All drivers must renew their driving entitlement when they reach the age of 70 and at most every three years after that. This provides a timely reminder to individuals to consider their health in the context of driving. To renew their entitlement, drivers must make a legal declaration that they can meet the required standards and confirm whether they have any listed medical condition. Drivers who advise the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of a relevant medical condition will be investigated and a driving licence will only be issued if they can meet the appropriate health standards. The Department announced in June 2018 that it has identified older people as one of four priority road user groups which will be included in the forthcoming Road Safety statement and action plan.

Electric Vehicles: Costs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with car manufacturers on the cost of hybrid and electric cars in the UK and incentives to encourage consumers to buy more eco-friendly vehicles.

Jesse Norman: Ministers have regular discussions with car manufacturers on a range of issues, including the market for ultra low and zero emission vehicles. The Road to Zero strategy, published in July 2018, sets out the Government’s plans to support the transition to zero emission vehicles. The Government is investing nearly £1.5bn between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for plug in vehicles and schemes to support chargepoint infrastructure. Along with the measures in the Government’s strategy, this adds up to one of the most comprehensive support packages in the world.

Bristow Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the financial solvency of the ultimate owner of Bristow Helicopters Limited; and when he last made such an assessment.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Bristow Group Inc is an indirect shareholder of our search and rescue helicopter provider, Bristow Helicopters Limited. Bristow Group issued cautionary guidance to investors on 11 February about a material weakness observed in the internal controls over its financial reporting going back to 31 March 2018. Bristow Group intends to release further information on its financial position at the end of 2018 to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), no later than 19 February 2019. An assessment of Bristow Group’s financial position will be made following the release of its quarterly results to the US SEC. These current difficulties are contained within Bristow Group and do not affect the Department for Transport’s contract with Bristow Helicopters Limited.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Bristow Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the annual value is of the current contract between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Bristow Helicopters Limited for helicopter search and rescue services in the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The value of the current search and rescue helicopter contract is £1.6 billion over 10 years.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Bristow Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingency plans his Department has developed for the early termination of the contract between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Bristow Helicopters Limited for helicopter search and rescue services in the UK.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Bristow Helicopters Limited continues to fulfil its contractual obligations with the UK Government. The Department for Transport has protections in its contract to guarantee a search and rescue helicopter service in the unlikely event that these obligations should go unfulfilled. The details of these protections are however commercially sensitive.

Bristow Helicopters: Offshore Industry

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many offshore oil and gas workers were transported to and from installations on the UK continental shelf under private contracts between oil companies and Bristow Group subsidiaries in each year since 2012.

Jesse Norman: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) collects data from airports with an annual volume of more than 150,000 terminal passengers. The total passengers in each year between such airports and offshore installations, transported by Bristow Helicopters Ltd, can be found in the table below. 2012412,8742013381,5952014400,1352015380,2882016321,1682017278,234 Complete data for 2018 is not yet available.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Local Government: Constituencies

Tim Farron: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the timetable is for the full Boundary Review of local councils.

Bridget Phillipson: The Local Government Boundary Commission for England has no current plans to carry out a single programme of electoral reviews for all local authorities in England.The Commission administers a rolling programme of electoral reviews and can include local authorities if they meet one or more of the following criteria:If a council has high levels of electoral inequality, where some councillors represent many more, or many fewer, voters than the average for the local authority area. The Commission targets authorities where the number of electors in 30% or more wards or divisions varies from the average of the council by 10% or more. Where one ward or division varies by 30% or more, the Commission will also consider carrying out a review. In both cases, the Commission will carry out a review if it believes the variances will not be corrected, without a review, within a reasonable period of time.If a council has not undergone an electoral review in more than 12 years.Where the Commission has been asked to carry out an electoral review.In the financial year 2019/20, the Commission plans to initiate electoral reviews in 25 English local authorities selected through the criteria set out above.

County Councils: Elections

Tim Farron: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what estimate he has made of the (a) average number of electors in a county council division and (b) percentage variance from that average in each such division.

Bridget Phillipson: The Local Government Boundary Commission for England collects and publishes data annually on every local authority in England. Data derived from electoral registers in December 2017 show that:(a) Given that electoral divisions in England can be represented by one or two councillors, the Commission does not collect data on the average number of voters living in them. The average number of electors per county councillor in England is 9,327.(b) The Commission strongly believes that every English local authority is different, faces diverse challenges and represents people and communities in a variety of ways. The Commission therefore does not examine electoral division or ward data against a national average. When drawing up electoral arrangements or deciding whether to include a council in its work programme, the Commission compares the number of electors in each division with the average for the council within which it is located. The spreadsheet, which can be accessed through the following link, sets out the electoral variance of every electoral division and ward in England against the average for that local authority alongside other electorate data http://www.lgbce.org.uk/resources/electoral-data.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fracking: Earthquakes

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to change the seismicity traffic light system which regulates the fracking industry.

Claire Perry: The Traffic Light System for monitoring induced seismicity was introduced after consideration of advice from three scientists, following operations at Cuadrilla’s Preese Hall site in 2011. The level of magnitude 0.5 at which operators must pause operations, was set in consultation with industry as an appropriate precautionary measure. There are no plans to review the traffic light system.

Electricity and Natural Gas: Licensing

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how and what proportion of applications for (a) Electricity Supply Standard Licences and (b) Gas Supply Standard Licences were granted by OFGEM in (i) 2018, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2016, (iv) 2015 and (v) 2014.

Claire Perry: This is a matter for Ofgem, who as regulator is responsible for decisions to grant, extend, restrict and revoke gas and electricity supply licences. I have asked Ofgem to write directly to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Electricity and Natural Gas: Licensing

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of applications for (a) Electricity Supply Standard Licences and (b) Gas Supply Standard Licences were refused by OFGEM in (i) 2018, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2016, (iv) 2015 and (v) 2014.

Claire Perry: This is a matter for Ofgem, who as regulator is responsible for decisions to grant, extend, restrict and revoke gas and electricity supply licences. I have asked Ofgem to write directly to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Electricity and Natural Gas: Licensing

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many of the (a) Electricity Supply Standard Licences and (b) Gas Supply Standard Licences that were granted by OFGEM in (i) 2018, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2016, (iv) 2015 and (v) 2014 remain active and continue to supply customers.

Claire Perry: This is a matter for Ofgem, who as regulator is responsible for decisions to grant, extend, restrict and revoke gas and electricity supply licences. I have asked Ofgem to write directly to the hon. Member and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Oil and Gas Authority

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how regularly he meets with the Oil and Gas Authority; and when he last discussed with that authority regulatory issues affecting supply chain contractors from the shipping industry.

Claire Perry: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and I meet regularly with the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). These meetings include discussions about the oil and gas industry and more broadly, the challenges facing the supply chain. However, the OGA does not have regulatory responsibility for the shipping industry or its supply chains.

Offshore Industry: Housing

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many contracts for offshore worker accommodation on (a) semi-submersible platforms and (b) barges were issued by oil and gas companies in the UK Continental Shelf in each year since 2013.

Claire Perry: The Department does not hold the requested information.

Offshore Industry: Procurement

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what standard tests of appropriate commercial behaviour the Oil and Gas Authority applies to the (a) upstream, (b) midstream and (c) downstream supply chain of the offshore oil and gas industry.

Claire Perry: The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) regulates the upstream oil and gas industry. As part of its decision making process to approve new projects (Field Development Plans) the OGA requires oil and gas companies to complete a satisfactory Supply Chain Action Plan (SCAP) which details how the project will be delivered in partnership with the supply chain. SCAPs focus on quality, trust, innovation and engagement, and the SCAP review and marking process aims to encourage the operator and supply chain company to work more closely together to increase efficiency and introduce innovation. In addition, the OGA works closely with the industry via the Maximising Economic Recovery UK Forum on culture change to improve the commercial behaviours across the sector.

European Union Intellectual Property Office

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to negotiate the continued ability of legal practitioners to represent their clients at the EU Intellectual Property Office after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Skidmore: The UK’s intellectual property system is consistently rated amongst the best in the world, and I recognise the value that the legal profession brings to the system and the wider economy. As we turn to the Future Economic Partnership with the EU, we will seek a comprehensive arrangement on trade in services, which will cover a wide range of sectors, including professional and business services and IP. Important legislation to safeguard trade mark rights post EU exit has recently been passed by Parliament, with similar measures for designs and international rights due to be debated shortly.

Intellectual Property: EU Law

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Government's Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK businesses can continue to have their intellectual property protected within the EU jurisdiction by UK-based legal professionals.

Chris Skidmore: The UK’s intellectual property system is consistently rated amongst the best in the world, and I recognise the value that the legal profession brings to the system and the wider economy. As we turn to the Future Economic Partnership with the EU, we will seek a comprehensive arrangement on trade in services, which will cover a wide range of sectors, including professional and business services and IP. Important legislation to safeguard trade mark rights post EU exit has recently been passed by Parliament, with similar measures for designs and international rights due to be debated shortly.

Merchant Shipping: Recycling

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the promotion of merchant ship recycling facilities in the UK to the international shipping industry after the UK leaves the EU.

Richard Harrington: There have been no discussions with Cabinet colleagues about the promotion of merchant ship recycling facilities in the UK to the international shipping industry after the UK leaves the EU.

Renewable Energy

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department has provided for low carbon and renewable technologies in the energy mix.

Claire Perry: Renewable electricity technologies are currently supported by the Contracts for Difference scheme, for which we have made up to £557 million available as announced in our Clean Growth Strategy. We are also investing £177 million in innovation funding to further reduce the costs of renewable technologies. In June 2018, we launched our landmark Nuclear Sector Deal, worth over £200 million, which will reduce costs, drive innovation and increase diversity across the sector. We are also investing a further £2.5 billion to support low carbon innovation up to 2021. The Government has been supporting low carbon and renewable heating through the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) since 2011. The non-domestic RHI offers support to businesses, charities and public bodies for a range of technologies and fuel uses. The domestic RHI, introduced in 2014, supports householders in installing biomass boilers, air-and ground-source heat pumps and solar thermal installations. As of December 2018, the RHI has supported over 85,000 participants in transitioning to low-carbon heating: over 19100, through the non-domestic scheme and nearly 66,000 through the domestic scheme. Deployment data can be found on the www.gov.uk site.

Research: Private Sector

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his  Department has a strategy to encourage the private sector to invest more in research and development.

Chris Skidmore: Through our Industrial Strategy we have an ambition to increase total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and 3% in the longer term. We are working with UK Research and Innovation and other key partners to develop a roadmap that sets out how Government and the private sector will work together to achieve this.

Energy: UK Trade with EU

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK will continue to participate in the European Networks of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and Gas (ENTSO-G) after the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: The Government is seeking broad energy cooperation with the EU to establish a framework to facilitate technical cooperation with European bodies, such as ENTSO-E and ENTSO-G, and data sharing to facilitate efficient trade over interconnectors over different timeframes. We believe there are strong mutual benefits from continuing to work closely together on energy after the UK leaves the EU.

Research: EU Action

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the UK will continue to participate in European research programmes such as Horizon 2020 after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Skidmore: The Government’s immediate priority remains to ensure that UK participation in Horizon 2020 continues until the end of December 2020. The proposed Withdrawal Agreement, on entering force, would provide for ongoing UK participation in EU programmes until the end of 2020, and ensure funding is provided for the lifetime of individual projects beyond this. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Government’s underwrite guarantee, which was announced in August 2016 would fund all successful competitive UK bids submitted to Horizon 2020 before exit. The extension to the guarantee, announced in July 2018, would also cover successful bids to Horizon 2020 calls open to third country participation that were submitted after point of exit, until the end of 2020. Both the guarantee and extension apply for the lifetime of projects. Although third country participation is not possible for some ERC and MSCA grants, the Government is working with stakeholders to identify appropriate measures that could be put in place in the period immediately after EU Exit, if needed.

Energy: Research

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether UK (a) firms and (b) universities will continue to receive EU research funding for development of clean and renewable energy technologies after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Skidmore: The Government’s priority remains agreeing a deal with the EU. A ratified deal based on the provisions set out in the proposed Withdrawal Agreement would ensure that all UK participants can continue to receive EU funding from EU Programmes committed under the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework for the lifetime of their projects. Horizon 2020, the EU’s research and innovation funding programme, is one such programme. This programme includes support for the development of clean and renewable energy technologies. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Government’s underwrite guarantee would fund all successful competitive UK bids submitted to Horizon 2020 before exit. In this scenario, the extension to the guarantee, announced in July 2018, would also cover successful bids to Horizon 2020 calls open to third country participation that were submitted after point of exit, until the end of 2020. Both the guarantee and extension apply for the lifetime of projects.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Bullying

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff in her Department reported experiencing bullying or harassment at work in the most recent Civil Service People Survey.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 19 February 2019



Bullying and harassment has no place in any workplace, including the Civil Service.In our most recent People Survey, 11% of respondents, on average, told us that they'd experienced bullying or harassment at work in the 12 months preceding the survey.Whilst this figure has remained stable since 2016, we recognise that certain groups of staff are more like to say they have experienced this type of unacceptable behaviour than others. This includes staff members with long-term limiting conditions who, in the vast majority of departments and agencies, were more likely to say they'd been bullied or harassed in the last 12 months than staff members with no long-term limiting conditions.We are strengthening the routes for staff to report bullying and harassment to ensure that all staff are fully supported throughout the process, and to ensure cultures are positive and inclusive.The high level People Survey results for each organisation, including reported rates of bullying and harassment, were published last December on gov.uk.Each Spring, the Cabinet Office conducts and publishes a range of further analysis on the People Survey responses, including the results by gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and health status. Similar analysis will be conducted again this year and made available on gov.uk. The results for the 2017 survey are summarised below. A copy of this table has been placed in the Libraries of the House. Civil Service People Survey 2017: results by organisation and health status Long-term health status is captured in the People Survey through questions J04 and J04A. J04 asks if the individual has a "long-standing physical or mental health condition, illness, impairment or disability?" and, if they answer yes, J04A asks whether their condition, illness or disability has an impact on their daily activity or the work they can do. Results are aggregated in to two broad categories: "No long-term limiting condition", combining those who answer No to either J04 or J04A; and, "Long-term limiting condition", those who answer Yes to J04 and who answer that their condition limits what they can do either "a little" or "a lot" at J04A. Answered “Yes” to the question “During the past 12 months have you personally experienced bullying or harassment at work?”No limiting long-term illnessHas a limiting long-term illnessAcas8%21%Accountant in Bankruptcy4%0%Animal and Plant Health Agency10%23%Attorney General's Office4%..Cabinet Office9%19%Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science7%22%Charity Commission10%22%Civil Service HR13%22%Companies House4%11%Competition and Markets Authority11%33%Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority8%31%Crown Commercial Service10%20%Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service10%35%Crown Prosecution Service8%21%Defence Electronics and Components Agency17%38%Defence Equipment & Support10%25%Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy6%15%Department for Communities and Local Government6%19%Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport4%12%Department for Education7%17%Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs7%16%Department for Exiting the European Union6%25%Department for International Development10%20%Department for International Trade10%17%Department for Transport6%14%Department for Work and Pensions8%20%Department of Health6%9%Disclosure Scotland9%27%Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency6%16%Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency17%37%Dstl10%27%Education Scotland19%36%Estyn5%..FCO Services9%37%Food Standards Agency16%27%Food Standards Scotland8%7%Foreign and Commonwealth Office12%22%Government Actuary's Department7%..Government Internal Audit Agency9%21%Government Legal Department8%11%Health and Safety Executive10%21%HM Courts and Tribunals Service8%21%HM CPS Inspectorate31%..HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services20%23%HM Prison and Probation Service HQ10%14%HM Revenue & Customs9%22%HM Treasury7%20%Home Office: Border Force14%40%Home Office: HM Passport Office11%25%Home Office: Immigration Enforcement13%28%Home Office: Policy and Enablers9%21%Home Office: UK Visas and Immigration9%20%Intellectual Property Office7%10%Land Registry6%14%Legal Aid Agency5%16%Maritime and Coastguard Agency14%42%Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency9%23%Met Office8%21%Ministry of Defence10%26%Ministry of Justice HQ7%18%MoJ Arms Length Bodies6%18%National Crime Agency11%26%National Records of Scotland5%12%National Savings & Investment7%45%Office for National Statistics9%18%Office of Gas and Electricity Markets7%11%Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation7%6%Office of Rail and Road12%20%Office of the Public Guardian15%26%Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator15%..Ofsted5%15%Public Health England11%19%Registers of Scotland7%5%Revenue Scotland7%..Rural Payments Agency10%25%Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland Offices7%15%Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service7%19%Scottish Government8%17%Scottish Housing Regulator5%..Scottish Prison Service15%40%Scottish Public Pensions Agency13%23%Serious Fraud Office9%20%Student Awards Agency Scotland8%16%The Insolvency Service6%13%The National Archives5%21%The National Probation Service10%25%The Planning Inspectorate4%11%The Prison Service13%28%Transport Scotland9%17%UK Debt Management Office7%..UK Export Finance16%7%UK Hydrographic Office8%17%UK Statistics Authority15%..Valuation Office Agency6%17%Vehicle Certification Agency12%..Veterinary Medicines Directorate6%27%Welsh Government7%18%Wilton Park8%..Note: ‘..’ indicates value supressed due to small sample size

Directors: Registration

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits of introducing Director Identification Numbers such as is being introduced or considered in Australia, New Zealand and India.

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring directors to provide identity documents when registering with Companies House.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government is currently considering a broad package of reforms to Companies House to ensure it is fit for the future and continues to contribute to the UK’s business environment. We plan to consult on these reforms in due course.

Parental Leave: Baby Care Units

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2019 to Question 215595 on Parental Leave: Baby Care Units, when his Department plans to complete the internal review of the provisions for parents of premature and sick babies; and if he will publish the results of that review.

Kelly Tolhurst: The review of provisions for parents of premature, sick and multiple babies is being carried out by officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to enable them to provide advice to Ministers. We have no plans to publish this advice but I look forward to discussing the conclusions we reach with interested parties in due course.

Parental Leave

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2019 to Question 206403 on parental leave, when his Department plans to complete the evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme; and if he will publish the results of that evaluation.

Kelly Tolhurst: We are currently evaluating the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme. We anticipate being in a position to publish findings later in 2019.

Parental Leave

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2018 to Question 195661 on paternity leave, what the timescale is for commissioning a new survey into family-related leave and pay entitlements.

Kelly Tolhurst: I can confirm that the new survey into family-related leave and pay entitlements - including Paternity Leave - has been commissioned. Data collection is due to start shortly; subject to the progress of this, we can expect to be in a position to publish findings later this year.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Public Records

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many records his Department holds that have reached the time limit for their transfer to the National Archives but have not been transferred.

Richard Harrington: The volume of BEIS’ legacy public records that predate 1994 is currently being reassessed as part of the annual Information Management Report. The deadline for this report is 1st March 2019 which, when published, will provide exact figures on how many legacy records BEIS holds and how many of those are agreed for transfer to The National Archives (TNA). However, internal analysis took place in late 2018 and showed that 3853 records have been reviewed and are agreed for transfer to TNA. In addition to these, 2611 have reached their time limit but have yet to be reviewed and 10125 records have been reviewed and selected for destruction. TNA records show that all BEIS legacy records are held under a Retention Instrument (RI) covering 10599 BIS records and 1635 DECC records (RI 130, signed 20th December 2017, expires 31st December 2019). This information is published by TNA and is therefore publicly available. Following the machinery of government changes in July 2016, which occurred following the general election, a number of these records transferred out of BEIS to Other Government Departments and the remaining records are/have been reviewed as part of the plan to reduce our legacy records (i.e. those older than the maximum period records can be retained for) and, so far, the total has reduced by over 60%. The plan to address the backlog was agreed by TNA and published, and we have since been providing updates to the Advisory Council and will be expected to provide a full update again in July 2019.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent progress has been made on his Department’s preparations for the UK leaving the EU.

Kelly Tolhurst: Holding answer received on 19 February 2019



BEIS is leading one of the largest programmes of EU exit deliver across government. We have recruited 700 new staff to work on EU Exit Policy. We are in the process of delivering a huge secondary legislation programme to ensure a functioning statute book on exit day. As of today, BEIS has laid 62 exit related statutory instruments, including new laws for a nuclear safeguards regime that will maintain the UK industry’s ability to trade in the nuclear sector while ensuring the UK remains on track to meet its international obligations on day one of exit, and plan to lay the remaining instruments by the end of this month. We have also published 28 technical notices, including on oil and gas, climate change, company law and state aid. These will continue to be updated. BEIS also continues to work closely with the rest of government on EU Exit issues, to ensure a cohesive approach is taken to support businesses. BEIS has contributed to cross-government information programmes, such as helping to develop the EU Exit business Q&A tool, which was been used over 20,000 times. BEIS continues to meet with key stakeholders across all sectors to inform our approach and will continue to use their expertise. For example, we have met with over 3,000 businesses to date.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many civil servants in his Department are working on each workstream on the UK leaving the EU.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 19 February 2019



This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Salisbury

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken as part of the long-term programme that has been developed to reposition Salisbury after the Novichok attack last year; and what the objectives of that programme are.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Department is supporting the aspiration of Wiltshire Council to move the narrative away from the incidents and decontamination activity and look to the future for the city and South Wiltshire. Wiltshire Council are in the early stages of developing a longer-term strategy to further promote recovery and ensure the sustainability of growth in Salisbury and South Wiltshire. Visitor numbers need to be supported to increase to pre-incident levels and wider support and investment in Salisbury and across South Wiltshire is needed to ensure the area retains its status an attractive location for tourists, businesses and investors. The strategy will focus on local community and wellbeing; economy and regeneration; infrastructure, tourism and culture, with key elements expected to help inform the wider Swindon and Wiltshire Local Industrial Strategy which will be published by March 2020.

European Regional Development Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how bodies in receipt of funding from the European Regional Development Fund can apply for further funding after the UK leaves the EU.

Kelly Tolhurst: Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will continue in the current round (2014-2020) of Structural Funds, including the European Regional Development Fund, as if it had remained a Member State. In a No Deal, the HM Government funding guarantee ensures that Structural Funds projects signed before the UK exits the EU will continue to be funded. The guarantee also enables new projects to be signed after exit until end 2020, with funding from HM Government replacing EU funding. Existing and future recipients of the European Regional Development Fund should continue to apply for funding through their existing Managing Authorities, as fund delivery bodies will remain the same after EU exit for the duration of the programmes. This includes the scenario where the United Kingdom leaves the EU without a deal. Managing Authorities for the European Regional Development Fund are the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (in England); the Devolved Administrations; and HM Government of Gibraltar.

Research and Development Expenditure Credit

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of R&D tax credits in encouraging private sector spend on R&D (a) overall and (b) by economic sector.

Chris Skidmore: A study by HMRC in 2015 showed that for every £1 of tax forgone up to £2.35 of R&D is stimulated, this suggests that the current R&D tax reliefs schemes are effective at encouraging additional investment in R&D. R&D tax reliefs are available to any company in any sector undertaking R&D projects seeking an advance in science or technology.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Capital Punishment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people sentenced to death in Yemen in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2017 and (d) 2018.

Alistair Burt: Our lack of access and presence on the ground make it difficult to assess the number of people sentenced to death in Yemen. The UK's position on the use of the death penalty is longstanding and clear; we oppose its use in all circumstances and countries.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Moroccan counterparts on the conflict in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK has taken the lead in urging the international community to support the efforts to achieve an inclusive political settlement in Yemen. However, I have not spoken directly about this issue with my Moroccan counterparts.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances he has sought from the United Arab Emirates Government that UK-produced weapons have not reached rebel factions in the conflict in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: Export licence applications to all countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, including Criterion 7 – the risk that exports might be diverted. We engage regularly with UAE authorities on the conflict in Yemen and we will keep the situation under constant review.

Yemen: Judiciary

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances he has sought from authorities in Yemen on the independent functioning of the judiciary in that country.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK has been active in encouraging parties to the conflict to preserve state institutions and service provisions. We also engage closely with UN agencies on plans to revive basic functions of rule of law, which enfolds support to the judiciary. We have earmarked funding to support these efforts as soon as the operational context is permissible.

Ascension Island: Marine Protected Areas

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to allocate adequate funding to enable Ascension Island to be established as a marine protected area.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Government committed £1.2 million of funding to Ascension to undertake the scientific research to underpin their designation of a Marine Protected Area. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to work closely with our delivery partners to prepare the case for ongoing long-term support to those Territories who have participated in the Blue Belt programme, including Ascension.

USA: INF Treaty

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US administration on the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty since the US has suspended its obligations to that treaty.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have been discussing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the US for a number of years as part of our continuous dialogue on security issues. The US also initiated a series of meetings on INF with close Allies in 2017 and 2018, during which we discussed the US approach and exchanged detailed information on the Russian violation and how we might best achieve our shared policy objectives.We support the US decision to suspend its participation in the INF Treaty and start the treaty's formal withdrawal process. A situation whereby the US was fully abiding by the INF Treaty and Russia was not, was not sustainable. Following the US announcement, NATO issued a statement declaring full support for US action and urging Russia to use the six month withdrawal period to return to full and verifiable compliance to preserve the INF Treaty.

Europe: Press Freedom

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote press freedom in Central and Eastern Europe.

Mark Field: ​We believe that media freedom is the lifeblood of democracy, and that it is vital to protect the ability of journalists and other media workers to hold the powerful to account. We are concerned by the increase in the number of journalists being targeted because of their work. For this reason we are placing the resources of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office behind a campaign to shine a spotlight on this issue and to galvanise a consensus behind the protection of journalists.We regularly raise media and press freedom in visits to Central and Eastern European countries as well as in multilateral fora, including the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We work with media organisations and civil society across the region to deliver projects to protect and support journalists.Additionally, the UK continues to be vocal in calling for an end to attacks on journalists, including in the case of the horrific murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée in Slovakia in February last year.

Russia: INF Treaty

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Russian Government on the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty since the US suspended its obligations to that treaty.

Sir Alan Duncan: NATO Allies first expressed concerns about Russian non-compliance with its INF Treaty obligations in 2014. In the last two years, there has been an intensification of Allied activity to encourage Russia to return to compliance.We have not discussed INF directly with Russia since the US, and subsequently Russia, suspended their participation in the Treaty. However, we and our Allies stated our shared concerns during the NATO-Russia Council in late January.

EU Common Foreign and Security Policy

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has plans to seek continued UK participation in the Common Foreign and Security Policy after the UK leaves the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK’s departure from the EU will enable us to achieve a fully independent foreign policy, not constrained by the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy. The Political Declaration sets out our intentions – not to participate in the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy - but to develop an ambitious future partnership that will enable the UK, the EU and our European allies to cooperate closely on foreign and security policy issues, where in our mutual interest.

EU Common Foreign and Security Policy

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the extent of the UK's potential ability to influence European foreign policy after the UK has left the EU and no longer attends meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan: UK and EU partners will continue to face the same threats and share the same priorities. The UK will leave the formal structures of EU Common Foreign and Security Policy, including meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council, but the Political Declaration sets out a new model of cooperation that will enable us to continue to cooperate closely on foreign and security policy issues, where in our mutual interest. This will provide mutual influence between independent actors. We hear repeatedly from our EU partners that they want to cooperate closely with us, a desire shared by this Government. We will continue to do this bilaterally, as well as through European and international fora, and multilateral bodies, during and after the Implementation Period.

Sanctions

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of potential UK influence on EU sanctions policy after the UK has left the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: UK and EU partners will continue to face the same threats, for which sanctions will remain a valuable and effective tool. The UK is a global leader on sanctions and has always played a leading role in the proposal, design and negotiation of EU sanctions. The Political Declaration, setting out the long-term vision for our partnership, envisages continued close UK-EU consultation and cooperation on the development of sanctions where appropriate, while enabling both to pursue independent sanctions policies. During and after the Implementation Period, we will maintain close cooperation and work closely with the EU and EU Member States, in order to ensure that sanctions are designed and implemented effectively. Under the planned Exit arrangements, the UK will be able to impose sanctions using the powers provided by the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.

Armed Conflict: Children

John Lamont: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will assess the merits of the conclusions and recommendations of the report entitled, No Choice: It takes a world to end the use of child soldiers, published by World Vision International in February 2019; and what steps his Department is taking to protect children at risk of recruitment by armed forces and his groups.

Mark Field: ​The UK government actively engages with civil society organisations, recognising that collaborative engagement can strengthen the protection of children in armed conflict. On 12 February 2019, the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon met four youth participants from World Vision UK's newly launched campaign entitled 'It takes a World...To End Violence Against Children', to discuss their views and recommendations for government action regarding the use of children in armed forces and groups. The UK government recognises the importance of amplifying young people's voices and the powerful impact this can have in raising the profile of the Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) Agenda. The UK government therefore continues to engage with World Vision on this agenda. An invitation has been extended to World Vision to present at the newly established cross-government Working Group on CAAC. The UK is an active member of the United Nations Working Group on CAAC, which leads the international response to the issue of child soldiers and child protection. This includes pressing those parties to conflict listed in the UN Secretary-General's annual report on CAAC to enter into concrete action plans with the UN to verify and release any child soldiers associated with armed groups and forces and to prevent re-recruitment. The UK is the largest single financial contributor to the office of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for CAAC, contributing £800,000 in the last five years. We have shown our support for the SRSG's recently launched Global Coalition for Reintegration (GCR) by joining the 'Friends of Reintegration' group, a forum to generate new ideas for supporting reintegration programmes and prevention of re-recruitment for children formerly associated with armed groups. The UK has confirmed it will be increasing its funding to the office of the SRSG for CAAC to £450,000 for the FY19/20 to continue assisting the SRSG with her current mandate and will be giving an additional £50,000 to fund extended activities pertaining to the GCR.

Priyanka Fernando

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the revoking of the arrest warrant for Brigadier Priyanka Fernando.

Mark Field: The Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with Cabinet colleagues regarding the revoking of the arrest warrant for former Defence Attaché Brigadier Priyanka Fernando.We were deeply concerned by the incident involving the Sri Lankan Defence Attaché last year and made immediate representations to the Sri Lankan Government. I called Foreign Minister Marapana on 8 February 2018 about the matter to raise his concerns. The Defence Attaché was recalled by his Government soon after.The FCO, which is not a party to the legal proceedings referred to, was contacted by Westminster Magistrate's Court seeking clarification of the Brigadier's diplomatic status in the UK at the time of the incident. The FCO has provided documentation to assist the court.The UK is committed to upholding the rule of law including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Armed Conflict

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when his Department plans to update the Government Strategy on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in order to reduce the number of babies dying as a result of armed conflict.

Mark Field: ​The Government is reviewing its strategy on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict now, and we will have more information in due course. The review coincides with the twentieth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1265 (1999) and the adoption of the Protection of Civilians as an item on the Security Council's agenda.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Data Protection

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, if he will publish the (a) names and (b) grades of officials in his Department that are responsible for ensuring that his Department complies with its obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Robert Buckland: All staff take responsibility within their roles for complying with the Attorney General’s Office obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Two grade 6 officers, one grade 7 officer, and one HEO took specific responsibility for ensuring that the Attorney General’s Office was, in line with Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s guidelines, ready for the implementation date of 25th May 2018.

Attorney General: Data Protection

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, for what time periods his Department did not have a dedicated data protection officer with responsibility for his Department's obligations under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulations since May 2018.

Robert Buckland: There was no period of time when the Attorney General’s Office was without a Data Protection Officer. Prior to the appointment being confirmed 21st June 2018 the AGO had a temporary arrangement whereby someone was informally performing the role of Data Protection Officer.

Attorney General: Data Protection

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, on what dates did (a) his Department and (b) an individual on behalf of his Department notify the Information Commissioner's Office of the name and contact details of each Data Protection Officer since May 2018.

Robert Buckland: The Information Commissioner’s Office was notified of the appointment of Government Legal Department’s appointment of a Data Protection Officer 21st June 2018. A further communication was sent to the Information Commissioner’s Office 15th February 2019 to confirm that this Officer was also covering the role for the Attorney General’s Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

Attorney General: Data Protection

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Attorney General, by what form of communication (a) his Department and (b) an individual on behalf of his Department notify the Information Commissioner's Office of the name and contact details of each Data Protection Officer since May 2018.

Robert Buckland: The Information Commissioner’s Office was informed by email.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services: Technology

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan, what steps his Department is taking to improve the rate of adoption of ready for speed health technology products.

Steve Brine: The NHS Long Term Plan and the second Life Sciences Sector Deal set out the Government and National Health Service commitment to ensuring that patients are able to receive the best treatments as fast as possible. From 2020, a new NHS England health tech funding requirement will identify the best value innovations as ‘ready to spread’ and help the NHS to adopt them quickly. This will apply to health tech products which have been assessed as cost saving by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In addition, NICE will significantly increase the number of evaluations it does for health tech products, so that the NHS has the evidence it needs to decide the best products to adopt and spread. Improving the adoption and spread of high quality innovations is also a priority for the Accelerated Access Collaborative under the leadership of Lord Darzi. In October, they identified 12 products that should be supported for rapid spread across the NHS, and further products will be identified this year. The Academic Health Science Networks are also a key partner in supporting the adoption and spread of health tech across the system, and the NHS Long Term Plan commits to their continued role in improving access to innovation.

Food: Labelling

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of whether providing information to consumers based on the total number of calories in a product rather than per 100 grams would (a) better encourage people to lose weight and (b) be more easily understood by consumers.

Steve Brine: There has been no recent assessment of whether providing information to consumers based on the total number of calories in a product rather than per 100 grams would better encourage people to lose weight or be more easily understood by consumers. We are considering the opportunities offered by exiting the European Union, which include giving us greater flexibility to determine what information should be presented on packaged food and how it should be displayed, and we will work alongside industry and other stakeholders to decide what will be next for labelling. We want to build on the success of our current labelling scheme and ensure we are using the most effective ways to communicate information to families.

Cancer: Staff

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming workforce implementation plan will include a plan to grow the workforce in key specialties for diagnosing and treating cancer.

Steve Brine: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key National Health Service interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals to grow the workforce rapidly, including staff working on cancer, consider additional staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff.

General Practitioners: Faversham and Mid Kent

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients are registered with each GP in Faversham and Mid Kent Constituency; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the number of GPs per head of population.

Helen Whately: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average number of patients seen at each GP practice in the Faversham and Mid Kent constituency per day; and what guidance his Department provides on the safe number of patient contacts.

Steve Brine: The number of patients registered to individual general practitioners (GPs) is not collected or held centrally. The number of patients registered in each GP practice in England is published monthly in NHS Digital’s ‘Patients Registered at a GP Practice’ publication. Practices are grouped according to their clinical commissioning group not parliamentary constituency. Each general practice is required to provide services to meet the reasonable needs of their registered population. There is no recommendation for how many patients a GP should have, as the demand each patient places on their GP is different and can be affected by various factors, including rurality and patient demographics. The workforce required for each practice to meet patient needs also includes a range of health professionals in addition to GPs themselves, and the best skill mix is for practices to determine. The average number of patients seen at each GP practice in the Faversham and Mid Kent constituency per day is not held centrally. The average number of appointments per day is only available nationally or for individual clinical commissioning groups. General practices are independent contractors to the National Health Service and their contracts require them to provide essential and additional services at such times within core hours, as are appropriate to meet the reasonable needs of patients. Core hours for GP practices contracted under General Medical Services (GMS) contracts are defined as 8:00 – 18:30, Monday – Friday, excluding weekends and bank holidays. Core hours for locally negotiated Personal Medical Services and Alternative Provider Medical Services are set out in their contract but largely mirror GMS opening hours or longer. It is for each practice to determine any appointments system which they feel best meets the needs of their patients. Also, it is for GP practices to organise the delivery of their services to meet the terms of their contracts and to meet quality and safety standards set by the Care Quality Commission. Contractually, GP practices should report any disruption in the delivery of their services which could compromise their ability to meet the needs of their patients. GP practices may seek support from their local commissioner, including agreement to close the practice list to new patients or temporary suspension of patient registrations.

HIV Infection

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that BME people living with HIV have the information they need about their condition.

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is doing to ensure that women with HIV have the information they need to manage menopause.

Steve Brine: NHS England is responsible for commissioning high quality HIV treatment and care. Patient representatives are involved as part of the clinical reference group and this helps in understanding what information all patients would like. Within the service specification for HIV, there is no prescriptive direction for providers on what information to provide; information provided is personalised to the person. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/b06-spec-hiv-serv.pdf

Orkambi

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will place in the  Library a copy of his response to the technical submission, contained in the letter to him dated 31 January 2019 from patients and campaigners on issuing a Crown Use License to make Orkambi available to all eligible patients in England; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: We have received the letter dated 31 January and we will respond in due course.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder have been diagnosed in England in the last 12 months for which information is available.

Steve Brine: This information is not collected centrally.

Medical Treatments

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect that charging for technology appraisals and highly specialised technology recommendations will have on the National Institute for Clinical Excellence.

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of companies' ability to pay the proposed charges for making technology appraisals and highly specialised technology recommendations.

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of charging for technology appraisals and highly specialised technology recommendations on the medical technology and wider life sciences sector.

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what analysis the National Institute for Clinical Excellence has undertaken on companies' ability to pay the proposed charges for making technology appraisals and highly specialised technology recommendations.

Steve Brine: The introduction of charges is intended to create a sustainable funding model for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies programmes that better positions it to adapt to future changes in the life sciences sector. The Government carried out a public consultation on the introduction of charges and took full account of the comments received in deciding to proceed. The Government response to the consultation and the Impact Assessment, published alongside the regulations, assess the impact of the introduction of charging on all relevant stakeholders, including the life sciences industry and NICE. As explained in the Government response and Impact Assessment, small companies whose products are undergoing assessment will benefit from a 75% discount, which is intended to minimise barriers to the participation of small companies. The Government response is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/762725/government-response-to-nice-recommendations-consultation.pdf The Impact Assessment at is available at the following link: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2018/171/pdfs/ukia_20180171_en.pdf

Medical Treatments

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the delivery and outcomes of the Accelerated Access Pathway Scheme.

Steve Brine: In its first year, the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) has identified 12 high potential products that it will support to get to patients faster. These products could improve health outcomes for 500,000 patients and deliver £30 million savings. This year, the AAC will also identify and accelerate patient access to its first earlier stage high potential products. The AAC is a key part of our plans to improve the health innovation ecosystem so that it delivers maximum benefit to patients and the National Health Service.

NHS: Drugs

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his policy is on the allocation of  unspent monies from the Pharmaceutical Pricing Regulatory Scheme.

Steve Brine: Payments made by companies who are members of the 2019 Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access are made to the Department. The Department then allocates the payments across the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It is for the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as local commissioners in the NHS in England to decide how best to allocate funding for the benefit of patients in their areas.

HIV Infection

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2018 to Question 215129 on HIV infection and with reference to his Department's goal of ending HIV transmission in England by 2030, what funding his Department plans to allocate to achieve that goal; and whether his Department plans to collaborate with other Government departments on achieving that goal.

Steve Brine: The issue of whether additional funding will be needed to achieve the goal of ending HIV transmission in England by 2030 will be considered as this work develops. The Department will work with a wide range of stakeholders, including other Government Departments, to achieve this goal.

HIV Infection

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve the health outcomes of people living with HIV.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to include policies to improve care for people living with HIV in the Implementation Framework for the NHS Long Term Plan.

Steve Brine: When diagnosed early and with access to antiretroviral therapy the majority of people with HIV in England can expect a near normal life expectancy. The National Health Service continues to provide world class treatment and care for people living with HIV. NHS England is responsible for commissioning high quality HIV treatment and care and has published related service specifications and policies. The aim is to provide specialist assessment and ongoing management of HIV and associated conditions in order to support patients to stay well reducing mortality and morbidity and to reduce the risk of onward transmission of HIV. The service aims to ensure that the outcomes, wellbeing and quality of life of people living with HIV are maximised. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/blood-and-infection-group-f/f03/As set out in the Long Term Plan, all health systems will be expected to set out during 2019 how they will specifically reduce health inequalities by 2023/24 and 2028/29.

Orkambi

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using a Crown licence obtain the drug Orkambi at an affordable price.

Steve Brine: It is right that patients should have access to cost-effective, innovative medicines at a price that is affordable to the National Health Service. As explained in the adjournment debate on 4 February, the Government is clear Crown Use is not a quick or easy solution but it is important we consider all options. The manufacturer, Vertex, needs to agree the very generous offer that has been made so that patients who need Orkambi are able to access it on the NHS. This is in the best interests of patients.

Blood: Medical Treatments

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to make immunoglobulin therapy available for the treatment of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Immunoglobulins are not currently licensed for the treatment of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). However, immunoglobulin therapy may be used ‘off-label’, if there are no other alternative licensed products available and the physician considers that immunoglobin therapy is appropriate to address the clinical need in order to manage a patient with MCAS. This decision, under the full responsibility of the physician, will need to be made following discussion between the physician and the patient. In order to gain a licence for the use of immunoglobulin therapy for the treatment of MCAS, a Marketing Authorisation Holder would have to submit a variation to their Marketing Authorisation to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) with a dossier compiled of safety and efficacy data. Specialist assessors would review the dossier and a variation to the Marketing Authorisation would only be granted if it is determined that the benefits of the product outweigh any potential risks of using the product in its proposed indication. The MHRA provides a scientific advice service to Marketing Authorisation Holders regarding their submissions should they request it.

Mental Health Services

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure closer integration of mental and physical health services within hospitals as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of new funding under the NHS Long Term Plan is being assigned to support closer integration of mental and physical health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The NHS Long Term Plan will integrate mental and physical health services in hospitals through the further development of liaison mental health teams in acute hospitals’ emergency departments and inpatient wards. A programme is already in place to deliver the commitment set out in the Five Year Forward View that by 2020/21 all acute hospitals will have liaison teams in place, with at least half to provide this on a 24 hours a day, seven days a week basis in line with the ‘Core 24’ standard established by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, by 2023/24, 70% of these liaison services will meet the ‘Core 24’ service standard. On the future funding of services, the NHS Long Term Plan National Implementation Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the NHS Long Term Plan will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system five year plans, will be brought together in a detailed National Implementation Plan in the autumn.

Mental Health Services

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS is taking to ensure adequate provision is made to treat mental health issues that may arise as a result of physical health conditions during the course of treatment for those conditions.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health set out plans for expanding Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services so that they can treat people with long-term health conditions, such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. This work is underway, with many integrated IAPT services providing physical care and psychological therapies. Under the NHS Long Term Plan, by 2023/24, an additional 380,000 adults and older adults will be able to access National Institute for Health and Care Excellence-approved IAPT services.

Blood: Donors

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2019 to Question 216936, for what reason NHS Blood and Transplant has not conducted paid for advertising to inform men who have sex with men of changes to blood donation rules.

Jackie Doyle-Price: During 2017/18, NHS Blood and Transplant spent £3.14 million on paid media to encourage people to donate blood. All marketing materials promote the ‘eligibility criteria tool’ which is found on the Give Blood website at the following link: https://www.blood.co.uk/ The ‘eligibility criteria tool’ lists the deferral times for a range of scenarios such as travel, medical conditions, tattoos and includes information for men who have sex with men and wish to donate blood. NHS Blood and Transplant is committed to exploring whether a more individualised approach to risk assessment could be taken to donor selection and expects to report on its findings regarding new evidence and new technologies for assessing risk by 2020. NHS Blood and Transplant has and will continue to engage with key stakeholders such as the Terrence Higgins Trust, the National Aids Trust and Stonewall about changes to eligibility criteria.

Syphilis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 217570 on Syphilis, when Public Health England plans to publish its Syphilis Action Plan.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 217568 on Syphilis, what steps his Department is taking to improve the detection, surveillance and clinical management of syphilis.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) plans to publish its Syphilis Action Plan in spring 2019. PHE routinely collects data on syphilis diagnoses made at sexual health clinics that are published each summer. PHE is implementing an updated version of the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Dataset (GUMCAD) sexually transmitted infections (STI) surveillance system from spring 2019 to better detect the complications of syphilis infection. The GUMCAD STI surveillance system can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/gumcad-sti-surveillance-system Additionally, the surveillance of congenital syphilis will form part of the new PHE Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening (IDPS) Programme Integrated Screening Surveillance Service. Further information on the IDPS programme can be viewed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infectious-diseases-in-pregnancy-screening-programme-standards/our-approach-to-infectious-diseases-in-pregnancy-screening-standards Increased professional and public awareness of syphilis in pregnancy and the neonate is planned via a new interactive IDPS e-learning package. The e-learning package can be viewed at the following link: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/nhs-screening-programmes/ The provision of patient information and regional training events for healthcare professionals are being considered.

Abortion

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2019 to Question 217569 on Abortions, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) address the trend of increased abortion rates for women aged 30 to 34.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The abortion rate for women aged 30-34 has increased from 15.1 per 1,000 women in 2007 to 18.5 in 2017 but there are a number of factors that need to be considered before drawing conclusions about the reasons for this increase, including any overall increase in conception rates for women aged 30-34. Public Health England is developing a reproductive health action plan to be published this year which will include actions around reducing unplanned pregnancy.

Health: Screening

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 14 of the National Audit Report entitled Investigation into the management of health screening, published 30 January 2019, for what reasons the project to replace the National Health Application and Infrastructure Services is 22 months behind schedule.

Steve Brine: The priority for NHS England has been to ensure that Capita provide a service that is stable and delivering safely for patients before the change takes place. Early service delivery issues in Primary Care Services England together with recent screening incidents have been the priority to ensure patient safety. The change required to remove the use of National Health Application and Infrastructure Services (NHAIS) is complex due to the aged architecture and local variations in how data is stored on each individual NHAIS database and the sensitivity of that information. In the meantime, NHS England has asked Sir Mike Richards to lead a review to improve the delivery of adult screening programmes, and will consider how current IT systems support the ambitions of the programmes.

Health: Screening

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to pages 19 to 23 of the National Audit Office report entitled Investigation into the management of health screening, published 30 January 2019, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that threshold targets in all cases of (a) abdominal aortic aneurysm, (b) bowel screening, (c) breast screening and (d) cervical screening are met.

Steve Brine: Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer are key priorities for this Government, and the Department is already working closely with NHS England and Public Health England (PHE) to address the issues this useful report highlights. The Department holds NHS England to account for the delivery of all adult screening programmes through regular Section 7a accountability meetings where the three organisations review all the key performance indicators (KPIs) for the functions of the S7a agreement including screening coverage data, with a focus on review of any service improvement initiatives and mitigating actions NHS England have put in place where there is underperformance. Screening programmes are part of the bundle of preventative services commissioned by NHS England on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care under the Public Health Functions Agreement (or Section 7A agreement). NHS England agrees contracts with providers of adult screening programmes to deliver the targets set by the Department, and NHS England manages these contracts to deliver the required performance. National and local levels of performance are measured to reduce variation in local levels of performance against threshold targets. The Long Term Plan published in January sets an agenda to improve uptake of screening and ensure that all screening and vaccination programmes are designed to support a narrowing of health inequalities. NHS England also works closely with PHE and the Department and charities on campaigns to boost the proportion of the eligible population that attend for screening. These campaigns aim to increase awareness of the importance of screening and address variations and inequalities. Furthermore, NHS England announced in November 2018 that Professor Sir Mike Richards will lead a review of the national cancer screening programmes. The review, expected to report by summer 2019 will include recommendations about how best to maximise uptake of screening, and iron out variation in uptake rates between different geographical areas and different population groups.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to train, recruit and resource the breast cancer staff needed to fulfil the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to increase breast screening uptake.

Steve Brine: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key National Health Service interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals to grow the workforce rapidly, including staff working on breast cancer screening, consider additional staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff. Following the publication of Health Education England's (HEE) first ever Cancer Workforce Plan in December 2017, there has been significant interest in training in radiographer reporting. HEE planned to invest in 300 more radiographers to start image interpretation and reporting courses by 2021. 150 radiographers commenced training in 2018/19 and 150 are expected to commence in 2019/20.

Motor Neurone Disease

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when the next planned review date is for the assessment and management of motor neurone disease.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that the guideline on ‘Motor Neurone Disease: assessment and management’ is currently not scheduled for review. NICE has processes in place to periodically review its guidelines to ensure that they reflect the latest available evidence. Such reviews are normally carried out every five years. As the guideline was published in 2016, the latest the surveillance review would be undertaken will be 2020/21. If significant new evidence that is likely to affect the guideline’s recommendations emerges before then, NICE is able to bring forward the surveillance review.

Dental Services and Prescriptions: Fines

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much revenue has been generated by issuing penalty charge notices for people not in receipt of the qualifying benefit to receive free prescriptions and dental treatment.

Steve Brine: Information provided by the NHS Business Services Authority on income from penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued in England, in respect to prescriptions and dental treatment, in each calendar year since 2014, is provided in the following table:Calendar YearDental PCN Income (£)Prescription PCN Income (£)Total PCN Income (£)20149,326,330.28525,6669,851,996.7120159,009,223.127,312,27716,321,500.27201615,542,912.6013,835,11829,378,031.02201717,086,583.8318,252,19835,338,782.18201813,840,674.7123,839,07837,679,753.08Total 2014-1864,805,724.5463,764,338.72128,570,063.26 Notes:NHS Business Services Authority assumed responsibility for the Prescription Exemption Checking Service on 17 September 2014, accordingly no data is held prior to this.Cleansing of PCN data is responsible for minor variation from previously published figures.

Tobacco

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to commission independent research into heated tobacco products; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of inviting the new Public Health England research centre in Harlow to have a role in that research.

Steve Brine: As outlined in the Tobacco Control Plan 2017, Public Health England (PHE) publishes annual independent academic reviews of the evidence on e-cigarettes and will do so up to the end of the current Parliament in 2022. The scope of these reviews includes heated tobacco products. The review PHE published in February 2018 considered the available literature for heated tobacco products but evidence for these products was in its infancy and mainly published by the tobacco industry. The 2018 review is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/e-cigarettes-and-heated-tobacco-products-evidence-review The next e-cigarette review will be published in February 2019. The laboratories at the new public health science hub at Harlow will be for microbiological and related research and thus not appropriate for this type of research.

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust: Public Appointments

Dame Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to appoint a new Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Executive appointments are made by a committee of the Board of the NHS Trust in accordance with Schedule 4 to the NHS Act 2006 and the National Health Service Trusts (Membership and Procedure) Regulations 1990. The committee consists of the chair, the non-executive directors and, in the case of an appointment other than the chief executive, the chief executive. Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has proposed an acquisition of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is planned to take place on 1 October 2019. The chief executive of The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust is due to leave the post at the end of March 2019 and the Trust is currently undertaking a recruitment process for an interim chief executive for a period of six months from 1 April 2019 to 30 September 2019.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) initiative, upon which her Department is represented on the Reference Group, is working with the She Decides campaign either informally or formally; and whether her Department has allocated funding to (a) the She Decides campaign and (b) joint projects between the She Decides campaign and the FP2020 initiative.

Alistair Burt: The Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) secretariat has not worked with the She Decides campaign. The UK has not allocated any funding to the She Decides campaign.   DFID works with many partners who support women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. A Minister attended the She Decides launch event, and we were delighted that She Decides held a spotlight event during the Family Planning Summit in London in 2017.

Developing Countries: Maternity Services

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the finding that her Department's global results claim on saving maternal lives was unable to be confirmed on page i, paragraph 1 of the Executive Summary of the Independent Commission for Aid Impacts report of October 2018, Assessing DFID’s results in improving Maternal Health: An impact review, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of that finding.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s impact review on DFID’s results in improving maternal health. The recommendations will feed into DFID’s strategic planning.   Despite the helpful points that the report highlights, we stand by our estimates for the overall number of maternal lives we saved. We used an internationally respected modelling tool – the Lives Saved Tool. We were forced to make some assumptions, however, and therefore used the tool conservatively, excluding some results from large programmes where we could not be sure of accuracy. This was our best way to account for UK Aid to the taxpayer.

Developing Countries: Maternity Services

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the finding that her Department's recent emphasis on family planning had generated significant shortterm results, but at the expense of a more balanced approach to building up health systems on page 24, paragraph 4.20 of the Independent Commission for Aid Impacts report of October 2018, Assessing DFID’s results in improving Maternal Health: An impact review, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of that finding.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s impact review on DFID’s results in improving maternal health. The recommendations will feed into DFID’s strategic planning.   Increasing our family planning portfolio from 2013 was an important move – this was a neglected area with an enormous potential impact, not only for women’s lives but also to societies and economies. Our spending on maternal health was not, however, reduced during this time.

Developing Countries: Maternity Services

Sir William Cash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the finding that her Department overestimated the number of maternal lives its programmes had saved during the 2011 to 2015 by 23,000 lives on page 25, paragraph 4.26 of the Independent Commission for Aid Impacts report of October 2018, Assessing DFID’s results in improving Maternal Health: An impact review, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of that finding.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s impact review on assessing DFID’s results in improving maternal health. The recommendations will feed into DFID’s strategic planning.   The report is right that we revised our estimate down as our information changed. Models continually incorporate better data as it becomes available. The maternal lives saved figure reduced when better data from Bangladesh and Ethiopia became available. Additionally, results from a large multi-country programme were excluded to avoid any potential for over-estimation. A full update is available in this report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/update-on-results-achieved-by-the-dfid-between-2011-and-2015

Uganda: Female Genital Mutilation

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Ugandan Government on tackling female genital mutilation in that country.

Harriett Baldwin: Through UK’s Support to Uganda’s Response to Gender Equality programme, engagements are held with Government of Uganda to support efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation. Efforts focus on securing stronger commitment on implementation of the anti-female genital mutilation law, prosecution of female genital mutilation and related cases, provision of efficient and quality protection and response services, and encouraging cross border discussions with the government of Kenya which has yet to outlaw female genital mutilation  Alongside the policy engagement we support capacity strengthening for local police officers, health workers, selected district local government staff and local council committees. This is targeted at the affected regions, so they further appreciate the dangers of female genital mutilation and violence against women and girls and spearhead social norm change.   The Secretary of State recently announced an extra £50 million to support the African led movement to end female genital mutilation. This will provide better protection for vulnerable girls in some of the world’s poorest countries, including Uganda. It also provides an opportunity for further engagement and influencing critical reforms within government of Uganda to drive down FGM, gender and social inequality.

Developing Countries: Children

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to increase humanitarian aid to help tackle violence against children.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK Government is committed to protecting children in conflict. DFID does not have targets for humanitarian aid spending on specific groups. Our humanitarian programming is based on an assessment of need in any given context and on evidence of which interventions are most effective. DFID is providing significant support to protect children from violence around the world through our humanitarian programming. Protection is at the centre of our humanitarian action, with partners adhering to minimum standards to ensure the safety and dignity of those most vulnerable, including children.

Developing Countries: Children

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment has she made of the economic effect of violence against children.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is committed to protecting vulnerable children around the world and helping them to grow up free from violence. Violence has long lasting impacts on children’s health, their capacity to learn, and their economic prospects in later life. Violence against children is also proven to have a negative impact on the economy. One estimate models the annual costs of physical, sexual and psychological violence against children to be up to 8 per cent of global Gross Domestic Product, which equates to approximately US$7 trillion. The economic effect of violence against children is one of the reasons why DFID is the leading supporter of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children.

Developing Countries: Children

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recovery projects her Department has in place to end violence against children.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is committed to reducing violence through dedicated investments to protect children, alongside interventions embedded in wider development and humanitarian programming.   Current examples of support include: £5.75 million to the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children to drive international ambition and progress, including the Safe to Learn campaign that will inspire action to end violence in schools around the world; £10m to UNICEF to prevent and respond to violence, abuse and exploitation of children on the move in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan through a strengthened child protection system; and £65m to the No Lost Generation Initiative in Lebanon to support Syrian children with education and psychosocial support.

Females: Equality

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking in order to reach SDG5 (gender equality) target in advance of International Women’s Day.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK was instrumental in securing agreement for a stand-alone goal and dedicated targets for gender equality and women’s empowerment across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are continually working on the advancement of SDG5, which remains a top development priority and a top priority for the UK. Our support is delivering results at scale – since 2015 UKaid has supported an estimated 3.3 million girls to gain a decent education, reached an estimated 7.3 million women and girls with humanitarian assistance and helped an estimated 9.8 million women with life-saving water, sanitation and hygiene programmes. We look forward to celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March.

Overseas Aid

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that government departments that allocate Official Development Assistance funding to ensure that Departments' work is (a) poverty focused, (b) effective and (c) transparent.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID is committed to supporting other government departments to strengthen the quality of their aid spending and maximise their impact on poverty through an extensive offer of support. Working through established cross-government oversight mechanisms we share good practice and provide specific advice on the government’s transparency commitments, Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility, and programme design and management. Ultimately departments remain accountable to Parliament and taxpayers to ensure their spend meets the ODA rules and represents value for money.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Infectious Diseases

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support programmes to tackle incidences of (a) AIDS, (b) TB and (c) Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is a global leader on efforts to tackle all three diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. We are the second largest funder of the current Replenishment of the Global Fund. The Global Fund accounts for two thirds of all international funding for TB, 60% for malaria and 20% for HIV/AIDS. Approximately 65% of Global Fund disbursements go to countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of HIV and malaria cases are highest. In addition, we provide support through a range of other country, regional and global programmes.

Department for International Development: Public Records

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many records her Department holds that have reached the time limit for their transfer to the National Archives but have not been transferred.

Harriett Baldwin: 7,680 records (files) have reached the relevant time limit (31 December 2018), where they have still to be reviewed for either transfer to The National Archives for permanent preservation or disposal.

Department for Education

Students: Loans

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to change the date for graduates with outstanding loans to the Student Loan Company to return information from the month of December to January.

Chris Skidmore: The Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (as amended) make no requirements of borrowers to provide information to the Student Loans Company in December specifically.

Schools: Walsall North

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in the Walsall North constituency will receive a cash increase in their budget per pupil for 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: Local authorities continue to be responsible for distributing funding to schools in their local area in 2019-20. School allocations for 2019-20 are yet to be confirmed by local authorities. They will be published in due course.The table attached shows notional allocations through the national funding formula (NFF) for schools in Walsall North in 2019-20, and compares these to the 2017-18 baselines. The notional NFF figures are based on 2018-19 pupil data.Total funding per pupil, which includes both pupil-led and school-led funding, may decrease when the number of pupils increases because school-led funding, which does not vary with pupil numbers, is divided by a greater number of pupils. The attached table shows both changes in total funding per pupil and changes in pupil-led funding per pupil. 



220321_Allocations_Through_NFF_in_Walsall_North
(PDF Document, 130.91 KB)

Pre-school Education: Admissions

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the review on allowing schools to admit summer-born children to reception class at the age of five will be published.

Nick Gibb: The Department is concerned that some summer born children may be missing the reception year at school. The Department remains committed to amending school admissions policy so that summer born children can be admitted to a reception class aged 5, where parents believe this to be in the best interests of their child. The Department is continuing to review the implications of any changes. It is encouraging that many admission authorities are now more responsive to requests for delayed entry to the reception year. Data from a survey of local authorities, published by the Department in May 2018, indicated that requests to delay entry are agreed in around 75% of cases. This data is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/707417/Delayed_school_admissions_for_summer-born_pupils.pdf.

Universities: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of the Minister of State for Universities in Hansard, Official Report, 11 February 2019, Volume 654, Column 637, what the evidenial basis is for his claim that universities financed entirely by taxation would result in an increased burden of £12 billion on the taxpayer.

Chris Skidmore: Holding answer received on 18 February 2019



My answer on 11 February 2019 was based on an observation of Labour’s Higher Education Proposals published by the Institute for Fiscal studies (IFS) in 2017. The observation can be found at: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/9217. My statement, that to return to a stage where universities are financed entirely by taxation would increase the burden on the taxpayer by £12 billion, is based on IFS modelling that shows that the total long run contribution of the government to remove tuition fees would be £12.5 billion, rounded down to the nearest billion. Of that £12.5 billion, the IFS estimate that around £11.6 billion would be in the form of teaching grants.

Universities: Fees and Charges

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if it is his policy to ensure that a reduction in the level of tuition fees does not result in a reduction in funding for universities.

Chris Skidmore: The government is conducting a major review of post-18 education and funding with support from an independent panel of experts. The review will ensure we have a joined-up post-18 system that works for everyone, providers included, and that it is supported by a funding system that works for both students and taxpayers.

Languages: Curriculum

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure more British pupils study a foreign language at school.

Nick Gibb: The Department has introduced the English Baccalaureate performance measure, which includes languages and has seen the proportion of GCSE entries from pupils in state-funded schools in a modern foreign language (MFL) increase from 40% in 2010 to 46% in 2018. The reformed National Curriculum now makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in Key Stage 2. The Department’s £4.8 million MFL Pedagogy Pilot commenced in December 2018, managed by the newly appointed MFL Centre for Excellence and run through nine school-led hubs, to improve uptake and attainment in languages at Key Stages 3 and 4. We have also launched a pilot project in MFL undergraduate mentoring for secondary school pupils to drive up participation in the subject, specifically targeting areas of high disadvantage to extend access to languages for all pupils.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure British universities attract EU students after the UK leaves the EU.

Chris Skidmore: The UK remains a highly attractive destination for both EU and non-EU students, with their numbers remaining at a record high. The total number of international students (EU and non-EU) studying in the UK has increased from 442,000 in 2016/17 to 458,000 in 2017/18.The government fully recognises the important economic and cultural contribution that EU and international students make to the UK’s higher education sector. We want that contribution to continue and we are confident – given the world-class quality of our higher education sector – that it will. We welcome international students and there continues to be no limit on the number who can come here to study, nor any plans to limit any institution’s ability to recruit them.That is why the government announced on 21 January that an international education strategy will be produced by the Department for Education and the Department for International Trade in 2019. The strategy will set out the government’s ambition for international education, in which international students play a key role, and plans to support the sector in driving growth in education exports.

Engineering: Young People

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of young people taking engineering qualifications (a) before and (b) after the 2018 Year of Engineering.

Nick Gibb: At GCSE, the majority of students study mathematics and science, and entries to computer science continue to rise quicker than for any other subject. In 2018, 32,879 pupils aged 16-18 entered A level physics and 82,070 entered A levels in mathematics (including all mathematics subjects). Computer science A level saw the biggest increase in entries for any A level subject in 2018, up 26% (to 9,506) since the previous year. 780 pupils aged 16-18 entered an applied general qualification in engineering, 1,238 entered a Tech level in engineering, 2,319 entered a Tech certificate in engineering, and 7,929 entered a level 2 vocational qualification in engineering. It is too early to assess the impact that the Year of Engineering has had on the take-up of engineering qualifications. However, it is positive that the Government’s broader science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programmes are having a positive impact on STEM progression, and the Department hopes that the efforts of the year will continue to add to this positive trend.

STEM Subjects: Females

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage more young women to consider entering careers in STEM.

Nick Gibb: The Government announced substantial spending commitments in the Autumn Budget 2017 on maths, digital and technical education. The Department is funding programmes to increase the take-up and better teaching of maths, science and computing in schools. These include a new £84 million programme to improve computing teaching and the advanced maths premium, to encourage more schools and colleges to teach pupils maths post 16. The Department is committed to addressing low female participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and, in particular, improving girls’ take-up of maths, computing and physics. Not all STEM subjects have a gender imbalance, and entries by girls to science A levels have increased by 14,822 (27%) comparing 2010 to 2018. However, physics take-up is notably low and the Department has invested in the Stimulating Physics Network, which has a programme dedicated to increasing the number of girls studying physics A level. The Department will be launching a Gender Balance in Computing Pilot Programme, to identify effective interventions that schools can implement to improve girls’ take-up of computer science GCSE and A level, as part of the £84 million investment to improve teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science. The Department has committed to improving STEM careers advice in schools. The Government’s careers strategy asks that STEM experiences, such as with employers and apprenticeships, are built into school career programmes. The Department is also funding at least 500 Careers Leader training bursaries for schools and colleges in 2018/19 and 2019/20 and doubling the number of Careers Hubs from 20 to 40 in 2019. The Government is also supporting the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 30,000 volunteers from a wide range of employers. STEM Ambassadors, 44% of whom are women, engage with young people to increase their interest and awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications offer.

Pupil Exclusions: Havering

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of pupils suspended from school for breaching drug and alcohol rules in Havering in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The National Statistics release ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England 2016 to 2017’ includes information on permanent and fixed period exclusions by reason. The full release is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017.Information for local authorities by reason and academic year is available in the 'Underlying data' section of the release.

Children: Social Services

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the level of Government funding of local authorities on the effectiveness of children's services in local authorities in England.

Nadhim Zahawi: Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Through the Settlement, the government has made available over £200 billion across the 5 year spending period. For 2019-20 this means an increase in core spending power from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion.At Autumn Budget my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million to address pressures on adult and children social care services. A further £84 million, over five years, was also announced. This funding will support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most vulnerable children and their families. This builds on our almost £270 million improvement and innovation programmes that help local authorities deliver effective children’s services. This includes 98 projects which have enabled local authorities to develop, test and scale new approaches to supporting vulnerable children in the social care system. 20 of our best local authorities are also working with the government as ‘Partners in Practice’ sharing their knowledge of what excellent children’s social care looks like to improve the quality of services across the country.Local authority effectiveness has also been rising. Since January 2018, Ofsted have judged 12 local authorities as no longer inadequate and 5 local authorities have been rated outstanding.

Home Education and Pupil Exclusions

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations in the Office of the Schools Adjudicator's annual report 2017-18 on (a) the prevalence of off-rolling and (b) home-educating parents registering with their local authority.

Nick Gibb: The Department will give careful consideration to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s annual report as it endeavours to ensure that the admissions system continues to work effectively for parents, pupils and schools.Pupils leave school rolls for many reasons including: permanent exclusion, moving to another school, or changes of circumstances (as when a pupil moves to a new area). All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register.Statutory guidance on exclusions is also clear that ‘informal’ or ‘unofficial’ exclusions are unlawful, regardless of whether they occur with the agreement of parents or carers. Any exclusion of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be formally recorded.A consultation and call for evidence on elective home education was held by the Department between April and July 2018. This included the issue of registration of children by local authorities. The responses received are still being considered, and a government response document outlining next steps will be published in due course.

Pupils: Visual Impairment

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that each young person with vision impairment has received appropriately adapted (a) national tests and exam papers and (b) past papers without charge.

Nick Gibb: The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) develops modified versions of National Curriculum tests in enlarged print (Key Stage 2 only), modified large print and braille (Key Stages 1 and 2). They are primarily designed for pupils with visual impairments, although they may be suitable for pupils with other needs. Schools can request permission from STA to open Key Stage 2 tests up to 5 days early if they need to make further adaptations to the test materials to meet a pupil’s specific needs. Schools are not charged for any version of the tests. Past versions of the modified tests are available free of charge so that schools can help pupils prepare and to ensure the materials meet their needs.Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. As well as requiring regulated awarding organisations to comply with equalities legislation, Ofqual’s General Conditions of Recognition require awarding organisations to monitor their qualifications for any feature which could disadvantage a group of students who share a particular protected characteristic, including those who have a disability due to visual impairment. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations are required to make reasonable adjustments to assessments for disabled students. Awarding organisations can, and do, make a wide range of adjustments to their assessments, including modifying exam papers (e.g. producing large-print or braille versions).Ofqual does not impose any specific requirements regarding past papers, either in standard format or in any modified format. However, the total number and proportion of modified exam papers produced for the annual summer exam series is increasing over time. Awarding organisations and schools and colleges are therefore increasingly likely to have modified papers available to be subsequently used as past papers.The awarding organisations that offer GCSEs, AS and A level qualifications do not charge for modified exam papers and where past exam papers have been modified, these are usually made available to schools and colleges free of charge.

Pupils: Visual Impairment

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of Qualified Teachers of the Visually Impaired in each local authority in England and Wales; and what assessment he has made of whether those numbers are sufficient to meet demand.

Nick Gibb: Information on the number of teachers who are Qualified Teachers of the Visually Impaired is not held centrally. Under the Children and Families Act 2014 local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure the sufficiency of provision in their areas for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their families, by reviewing it regularly in consultation with the local population. This would include provision for children and young people who have a visual impairment.

Pupils: Visual Impairment

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that teachers are able to identify young children who require visual impairment support in early years education.

Nadhim Zahawi: Early Years Teacher Status is awarded to graduates who have met all of the Teachers’ Standards (Early Years) which are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211646/Early_Years_Teachers__Standards.pdf. These standards set out the minimum knowledge, understanding and skills that an Early Years Teacher must demonstrate. Early Years Teachers are required to:Have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit children’s learning and development and how best to address these.Demonstrate an awareness of the physical, emotional, social, intellectual development and communication needs of babies and children, and know how to adapt education and care to support children at different stages of development.Demonstrate a clear understanding of the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and be able to use and evaluate distinctive approaches to engage and support them.Know when a child is in need of additional support and how this can be accessed, working in partnership with parents and/or carers and other professionals. The Early Years Foundation Stage framework requires providers to have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities and to identify a member of staff to act as SEN Co-ordinator. This framework can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596629/EYFS_STATUTORY_FRAMEWORK_2017.pdf. Where it is identified that a child may have SEN, the setting should adopt the graduated approach that is outlined in the SEND Code of Practice – assessing the child’s needs, planning suitable support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it remains appropriate to the child’s needs. This document can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

Performing Arts: Children

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he next plans to review the Children (Performances and Activities) Regulations 2014; if he will hold discussions with representatives of Brass Bands England as part of such a review; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government has no current plans to review the Children (Performance and Activities) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 6 February 2015.Whenever there is a future review and consultation, Brass Bands England would be welcome to contribute to it.Department officials are always happy to meet sector organisations that wish to raise any questions about the legislation and associated guidance, and will contact Brass Bands England to offer them a meeting.

Free Schools: Greater London

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2019 to Question 218343, if he will publish the criteria by which The Hoo site was determined to be unsuitable for Abacus Belsize Primary School in Belsize Park.

Nadhim Zahawi: Following an extensive site search, the department purchased the Hampstead police station for Abacus Belsize Primary School. The Hoo site has been judged unsuitable because the existing listed building on the site is not large enough to cater for a school of this size without a new build extension and considerable remodelling.

Treasury

Transfer Pricing

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's January 2019 Profit Diversion Compliance Facility, what estimate he has made of the value of transactions through transfer pricing arrangements in each of the last five years; how many transfer pricing specialists HMRC employs; and how many transfer pricing investigations HMRC has undertaken in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: On 10 January 2019 HMRC introduced a new Profit Diversion Compliance Facility for Multi-National Enterprises using arrangements targeted by the Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) to give them the opportunity to bring their UK tax affairs up to date. HMRC does not hold the information about the value of transactions through transfer pricing arrangements in each of the last five years. HMRC has increased the number of staff dealing with international tax risks, including transfer pricing. As at 30 April 2018, there were 365 full time equivalent staff working on international risks, including transfer pricing and DPT. HMRC recognises the importance of identifying and tackling international tax risks and is invested in building the capability of the staff involved. These skilled staff work with other expert industry and tax specialists to tackle those cases that represent a substantial risk of tax loss to the Exchequer in line with HMRC’s “resource to risk” compliance policy. Transfer pricing investigations include enquiries into tax returns, pre-return investigations, and investigations that precede Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) or Advance Thin Capitalisation Agreements (ATCAs). The numbers of transfer pricing investigations HMRC initiated in the years 2013/14 to 2017/18 were:  2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Number of Investigations462427384250244

Transfer Pricing

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's January 2019 Profit Diversion Compliance Facility, what estimate he has made of the value of transactions under investigation; and how many inquiries resulted in the view that the factual pattern outlined to HMRC at the start of an enquiry did not stand up to scrutiny once tested in each of the last five years.

Mel Stride: On 10 January 2019 HMRC introduced a new Profit Diversion Compliance Facility for Multi-National Enterprises using arrangements targeted by the Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) to give them the opportunity to bring their UK tax affairs up to date. HMRC does not hold the information about the value of transactions under investigation. HMRC does not hold information about how many inquiries resulted in the view that the factual pattern outlined to HMRC at the start of an enquiry did not stand up to scrutiny once tested in each of the last five years.However, in circumstances where HMRC believes it may have been misled by information provided by customers in the context of transfer pricing investigations, the matter will be referred to its Fraud Investigation Service.

Transfer Pricing

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's January 2019 Profit Diversion Compliance Facility, what estimate he has made of the value of the sums recovered from HMRC investigations into transfer pricing arrangements in each of the last five years; how many HMRC investigations into transfer pricing arrangements have been subsequently referred to its Fraud Investigations Service in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the value of HMRC’s current investigations into transfer pricing arrangements.

Mel Stride: On 10 January 2019 HMRC introduced a new Profit Diversion Compliance Facility for Multi-National Enterprises using arrangements targeted by the Diverted Profits Tax (DPT) to give them the opportunity to bring their UK tax affairs up to date.In the years from 2012/13 to 2017/18, HMRC secured £6.5 billion of additional tax by challenging the transfer pricing arrangements of multinationals. Year2012/ 132013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Total Amount£504 m£1,137m£707m£853m£1,618m£1,682m  The information requested regarding how many HMRC investigations into transfer pricing arrangements have been subsequently referred to its Fraud Investigation Service in each of the last five years is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. However, in appropriate cases transfer pricing cases are referred to HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service for their consideration.HMRC cannot reliably predict the value of its current investigations into transfer pricing arrangements because the outcome is highly dependent on the facts that are determined during the enquiries’ progress.

Retail Prices Index

Deidre Brock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to reform the calculation of the Retail Price Index.

Elizabeth Truss: As set out at Budget 2018, the government recognises the flaws in the way that the Retail Prices Index (RPI) is measured and has made progress in moving away from using it. However, given the extensive use of the RPI across the public and private sectors further moves away from the measure are complex and potentially costly. The government’s objective is that the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) will become its headline measure over time, and that it will reduce the use of the RPI when and where practicable.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) current and (b) projected cashflow is for the High Speed 2 project in the next (i) 12 months, (ii) five years and (iii) 10 years.

Elizabeth Truss: High Speed 2’s (HS2) funding envelope is £55.7bn (in 2015 prices). At Spending Review 2015, HS2’s annual budgets were set for five years to 2020/21. In 2019/20 HS2’s budget is set at £4.694bn and in 2020/21 it is set at £4.647bn Future HS2 budgets will be set at the Spending Review later this year.

UK Trade with EU

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate the Government has made of the annual amount it is prepared to pay for each level of access to the EU single market.

Elizabeth Truss: As set out in the Government’s analysis of the economic and fiscal impact of EU exit (below), the terms of any future financial contributions to the EU related to our future relationship will be a matter for negotiation. However, the Government has been clear on the areas where future spending may be incurred, should the UK and the EU agree. The Political Declaration, published on 25 November, sets out that the UK and EU will “make a fair and appropriate financial contribution” in return for “participation in Union programmes… in areas such as science and innovation, youth, culture and education, overseas development and external action, defence capabilities, civil protection and space.” https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/760484/28_November_EU_Exit_-_Long-term_economic_analysis__1_.pdf

Working Tax Credit

Dr David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value was of the contract with Concentrix for its investigation into payments of Working Tax Credits; how many claimants were pursued as part of Concentrix’s contract; and how many of those investigations were successful.

Elizabeth Truss: Full details on HMRC’s contract with Concentrix and details on how many investigations were undertaken and how many were successful are available publicly. On 17 January 2017 the National Audit Office published its ‘Investigation into HMRC’s contract with Concentrix’. This can be found at https://www.nao.org.uk/report/hmrcs-contract-with-concentrix/ On 4 April 2017 the Committee for Public Accounts published its report ‘HMRC’s contract with Concentrix’. This can be found at https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmpubacc/998/99802.htm

Working Tax Credit

Dr David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the protocol used to determine whether an individual was investigated for an inappropriate claim for working tax credits (a) directly by the Department or (b) by an external agency.

Elizabeth Truss: HMRC guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/claimant-compliance-manual. No checks have been carried out by external agencies since November 2016 when HMRC and Concentrix agreed to exit the contract with immediate effect.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Wes Streeting: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to (a) reopen and (b) allocate additional funding to the Equitable Life payment scheme.

John Glen: Since 2010, we have taken more action than any previous government to resolve this issue by allocating up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders. There are no plans to allocate any further funds to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, or reopen it.

Cars: Leasing and Loans

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the value of current car loans and car-leasing schemes in the UK.

John Glen: On 1 April 2014, regulation of the consumer credit market, including high-cost lenders, was transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We have passed the Honourable Members question on to the FCA, who will reply directly by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Housing: Construction

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of the Barnett consequentials are for (a) Small Sites Fund, (b) Housing Infrastructure Fund, (c) local authority Accelerated Construction Programme and (d) the Land Assembly Fund.

Elizabeth Truss: The Barnett Formula is applied at departmental level at Spending Reviews and at programme level at fiscal events. The total spending on UK Government programmes is not therefore generally associated with specific Barnett consequentials. However, where changes in programme level funding have been announced at fiscal events since the 2015 Spending Review, HM Treasury’s Block Grant Transparency publication sets out the associated changes in the devolved administration block grants. This includes funding for the four programmes referred to in the question. The Block Grant Transparency publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-december-2018.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Sleeping Rough

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he publish the (a) count, (b) estimate, and (c) average number of people rough sleeping in each local authority in each year since 2011.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The annual single night snapshot of rough sleeping in Autumn 2018 was published on January 31 2019 at the link below:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018.Table 1 provides figures from annual rough sleeping snapshots in all local authorities in England since 2010 and whether this was derived through a count or an estimate. Each local authority in England chooses whether to inform this annual snapshot via a street count, an evidence-based estimate, or an estimate informed by a spotlight street count.The methodology for providing this snapshot has been in place since 2010 and provides a way of approximating the number of people sleeping rough across England on a single night, and tracking change over time. Detailed guidance is provided to authorities on how to conduct counts and estimates; hundreds of local partner agencies participate in the process and Homeless Link are funded to verify all local counts and validate local estimates and demographic information.MHCLG is encouraging local authorities with larger numbers of people sleeping rough to improve their year-round monitoring. Due to the difficulties involved in collecting such information, it is not practical to request all local authorities to gather data on the flow of people sleeping rough across the year. This would require extensive local outreach work as well as a substantial database and, especially for local authorities with small numbers of people sleeping rough, would not be an appropriate use of resources.In some areas, including London, this is already in place. London’s CHAIN data, which provides information on the individuals seen sleeping rough by outreach teams in London throughout the year as opposed to a single night, was published alongside our own statistics and can be found at the link below.https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports.This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Community Relations: Islam

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle sectarian violence in communities between different groups of the Islamic faith.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government condemns violence between any groups or individuals in society The Government facilitates the coming together of different groups within the Islamic faith through a range of initiatives, including supporting dialogue between faith leaders of different communities, and funding organisations such as Tell MAMA, which runs community outreach events across the country. Our overall work is informed by the Cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group which brings together representatives from a range of Muslim communities.

Religious Hatred: Islam

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect Ahmadiyya Muslim citizens from verbal and physical attack and abuse on religious grounds.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Government is clear that everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease. Verbal and physical attacks and abuse on religious grounds are hate crimes and will be dealt with appropriately by the police and criminal justice system. As part of our efforts to tackle hate crime, the Government supports the work of the Cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group, which represents a range of perspectives, including those of the Ahmadiyya community. We also support Tell MAMA, a service which spreads awareness about Anti-Muslim hate crime and Islamophobia, and provides victim support, amongst a number of other initiatives.

Religious Hatred: Islam

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect Muslim citizens from verbal and physical attack and abuse on religious grounds.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is absolutely committed to tackling hate crime against all individuals and communities. As part of the Government’s refreshed Hate Crime Action Plan published in 2018, we continue to support Tell MAMA, a service which spreads awareness about Anti-Muslim hate crime and Islamophobia, and provides victim support, amongst a number of other initiatives. Verbal and physical attacks and abuse on religious grounds are hate crimes which should be reported to the police. We are confident that reports will be dealt with appropriately.

Housing: Construction

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans the Department has to carry out an assessment of the costs of providing infrastructure to deliver new homes.

Kit Malthouse: In general, it is for Local Planning Authorities to assess infrastructure needs and set out contributions required from developers to support new homes in their local plans. Where local authorities have bid to the Housing Infrastructure Fund to unlock homes, the Government is assessing these to ensure good value for money

Housing: Construction

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made since 2017 in reviewing space standards of new homes.

Kit Malthouse: The Government will be considering the Nationally Described Space Standard as part of its programme to review planning practice guidance and building regulations guidance.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes: Small Businesses

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the introduction of a tenancy deposit scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises and their landlords on trends in the level of legal cases in relation to rent brought before the courts.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a tenancy deposit scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises to assist the financial security of those businesses.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to implement a mandatory tenancy deposit scheme for commercial premises with a rateable value of £51,000 or less.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department does not hold the information requested, as the terms on whether, and how much, deposit will be paid by the tenants of a commercial property is agreed by the landlord and tenant on an individual basis and this information is not reported centrally.This information should be included within the commercial lease agreement agreed by both the landlord and the tenant. It is considered to be best practice to include a rent deposit deed, which sets out how a landlord secures a commercial tenant's deposit.We do not currently have any plans to require the use of a tenancy deposit scheme for commercial tenancies.

Private Rented Housing

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish details of the Government's plans to establish a housing court for tenants and landlords in the private rental sector; and if he will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: We want a system that works for all users who bring housing cases to the courts and tribunal. One that is simpler, leads to swifter justice and which offers an improved service.The Government launched a Call for Evidence in November last year to better understand the experience of courts and tribunal service users in property cases. We are exploring whether a specialist Housing Court could make it easier for all users to resolve disputes, reduce delays and to secure justice in housing cases, or whether this can be achieved in other ways.The Call for Evidence closed on 22 January, and we are working closely with officials from the Ministry of Justice to analyse the responses before making any policy decisions.

Devolution: Yorkshire and the Humber

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his letter to the Mayor of the Sheffield City Region of 12 February 2019, if he will publish the Government’s devolution criteria.

Jake Berry: I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 19 February 2019 to his Question UIN221735 which set out our criteria for devolution. These criteria were described in the Department’s written evidence to the Communities and Local Government Committee which was published on the inquiry page of the Committee’s web site along with its report “Devolution: the next five years and beyond. First Report of Session 2015-16” (HC 369).

Housing: Students

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on local authority finances of student accommodation being exempt from council tax and business rates.

Rishi Sunak: The Local Government Finance Settlement takes into account the impact of student exemptions on local authorities’ income in its funding distribution methodology. The way we allocate funding in future – including how to account for differences in ability to raise local taxes - is being considered by the review of relative needs and resources.

Ministry of Defence

USA: Military Bases

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, who pays for the services of the Ministry of Defence Police at (a) NSA/NRO Menwith Hill and (b) those other RAF bases occupied by US forces.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The US Authorities are responsible for bearing the majority of the cost of the services of the Ministry of Defence Police deployed on operational duty at RAF bases in the UK that are made available to the United States Visiting Forces.

Veterans: Research

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's 22 October 2018, New study into Iraq and Afghanistan veterans launched, whether that study will record and analyse the roles in which those people served.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The study announced on 22 October 2018 is investigating the cause of death, including of suicide, for all personnel who deployed to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. The study includes personnel who are still in service and those that have transitioned into civilian life.The study will initially focus on the whole of the Armed Forces including those who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. If a higher mortality rate is found to exist in veterans of the conflicts, it is likely that a more detailed analysis of the data will be conducted including the impact of whether the personnel were in a combat, combat support or combat service support role.

Ministry of Defence: Public Records

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many records his Department holds that have reached the time limit for their transfer to the National Archives but have not been transferred.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Some 9.8 million records have reached the time limit for their transfer to The National Archives. Of these, some 9.5 million are historic Service personnel records held under a Retention Instrument from the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives until 2028.

Armed Forces: Housing

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of his Department’s communication with service families on the Future Accommodation Model.

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what comparative assessment he has made of the suitability of the Future Accommodation Model for personnel serving in each of the three services.

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Future Accommodation Model on the number of Service personnel living unaccompanied.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has engaged closely with Service families and family organisations throughout the development of the Future Accommodation Model (FAM). Throughout this period, various means of communication including the development of a Gov.uk website, close liaison with the single Services, Families Federations and community information networks have supported a steady flow of information. Planning is under way to ensure that there will be regular communication and detail on the impact of FAM on Service personnel and their families in the very near future, and as the Pilot implementation progresses in 2019. The pilot will allow MOD to test this new approach and understand how it affects all Service personnel and their families, including those who are single, those who are in a long-term relationship and those who live unaccompanied. Feedback will inform a decision on whether or not to implement FAM across the UK in the future. The pilot, which is expected to take place at a small number of military bases is being planned to start in autumn 2019.More general information about FAM can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/ government/publications/future-accommodation-model-what-you-need-to-know.

Radar: Wind Power

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that potential interference with air defence radar does not prevent the future development of offshore wind sites.

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with representatives of the offshore wind sector on the interaction between air defence radar and potential future offshore wind sites.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains keen to support the future developments of the offshore wind sector, as best it can. However, this needs to be balanced with its requirements to protect the UK and its airspace. MOD officials have regular liaison with representatives of the offshore wind sector on this matter, particularly through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Aviation Management Board meetings. Where appropriate we will continue to liaise across the industry sector and wider Government, including BEIS and the Department for Transport.The MOD is undertaking further analysis to consider the strategic objectives and understand any risks with our current and future military radar capabilities. We aim to conclude the first 'understand' phase in the spring which will set the scope, structure and timelines for any further phases of work that may be required. However, a way ahead in the immediate future is challenging and requires upgraded or new technologies, which are not currently part of the equipment programme.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will ensure that claimants who have been migrated to universal credit are provided with a detailed explanation of the legal basis for the deductions made to their benefits.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit claimants receive a breakdown of how their award is calculated, including any deductions, in their monthly statement. These deductions which can include recovery of advances or overpayments, third party deductions, certain other benefit payments and other income such as occupational pension income are input in accordance with social security legislation (this list is not exhaustive). If required we can provide an explanation by telephone, face to face, through the claimant’s online journal or by letter. A claimant can also ask for a reconsideration, or in some circumstances (if a debt deduction) can have an affordability discussion with debt management about the deductions from their award, and ultimately appeal to HM Courts and Tribunals Service if they are not satisfied with the outcome. However, not all deductions can be reduced or amended due to the legislation that is set in place (i.e. court fines, utility deductions, Child Maintenance Group).

Universal Credit: Domestic Abuse

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the process is for beginning a new universal credit application in the event of a relationship breakdown as a result of domestic violence.

Justin Tomlinson: When a victim comes into a Jobcentre fleeing domestic abuse, we do everything we can to support the victim. Our primary aim is to determine the immediate priority needs for the individual. We support people by helping them to open a new claim and put in place an advance where needed, which provides access to funds in 2-3 hours. Where further or specialised support is required, we seek to establish the best approach for that individual, utilising links with local partnerships and charities. We directly liaise with these organisations immediately and agree next steps with the victim.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is for a call to the universal credit hotline to be answered.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit is a 24 hour, seven day a week, digital service that allows claimants to manage their own data and account online at a time which is convenient for them. Via their account claimants can check their Universal Credit benefit payments, notify us of changes and record notes via an online journal facility. In addition, established claimants who call the Freephone Universal Credit helpline are connected directly to the person or team who are dealing with the case. The average waiting time for a person calling the Universal Credit Full Service helpline in the month of January 2019 was 4 minutes and 53 seconds. Our Average Speed of Answer (ASA) measure is the average customer wait time from the point of entering a queue to connection to an agent. This excludes any time spent in pre-queue messaging and any wait time for calls ultimately abandoned by callers prior to answer. Notes: Data Source: BT - OPMIS and Historical Management Information (GI2 – HMI)Outsourced partner data is included.The data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.

Refuges: Females

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many referrals have been made to women's refuges in the past six months by work coaches in job centres in the UK.

Justin Tomlinson: We do not record how many referrals have been made to women's refuges. Work Coaches will signpost individuals to the relevant support service, ensuring they get the help and support they need from the appropriate partner organisation. No data is held on the number of claimants signposted to domestic abuse support services DWP is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants, including the most vulnerable in society. This includes those who are, or have been, victims of domestic abuse. We provide a tailored service that recognises those with complex needs at any point through-out their journey and ensures appropriate support is quickly made available - a fundamental principle in the operational delivery of UC. We are working closely with Refuge and Women’s Aid to improve the training provided to our staff, which means that Departmental training and awareness is now better than it ever has been, allowing Jobcentre staff to proactively identify, support and signpost victims of abuse.

Universal Credit

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of meetings at job centres for universal credit claimants have been missed due to ill health in each year for which information is available.

Alok Sharma: The requested information is not readily available as the Department does not centrally collate information on the reasons a claimant might give for not attending an appointment. Where a claimant has a health condition we will apply easements to their conditionality and we may postpone or reschedule their appointment. If a claimant fails to attend a meeting due to a health condition, we would consider a temporary period of sickness or medical emergency to be a good reason for this.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce universal credit claimants' anxiety of the threat of sanctions.

Alok Sharma: Work coach discussions with claimants are designed to provide people with help and support. They will agree claimant commitments which are reasonable and tailored to take account of individual circumstances. Work coaches must make clear, in a consultative and helpful manner, the potential consequences of failing to comply without good reason with the agreed commitments. They highlight that sanctions are not imposed lightly and only where the claimant has no good reason for failing to meet their commitments. They also explain the importance of letting their work coach know if they have difficulty meeting a commitment, e.g. telling us why they cannot make a work coach appointment. When considering if someone has good reason, the work coach will clarify if other factors should be taken into account, e.g. health condition, complex need or vulnerability. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause, into account before deciding whether a sanction is warranted.

Low Incomes: Personal Savings

Mhairi Black: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support low earners to save for retirement.

Guy Opperman: Automatic enrolment has reversed the decline in workplace pension saving. Latest figures show that over 10 million workers have now been automatically enrolled into workplace pension by more than 1.4 million employers. By 2019/20 an estimated extra £18.4 billion a year is estimated to go into workplace pensions as a result of Automatic Enrolment.Automatic Enrolment has been particularly successful for those groups who were once poorly served or excluded from workplace pension saving, including lower earners. The largest increase amongst income groups in workplace pension participation (an increase from 20% to 72%) between 2012 and 2017, being amongst eligible private sector workers earning between £10,000 and £19,999.The Government is committed to building on the success of Automatic Enrolment. The 2017 review sets out our ambition for the mid-2020s, with proposals to strengthen financial resilience for young people and lower earners, including those who have multiple part-time jobs. However, we will not force the pace of change in Automatic Enrolment and want to understand properly the impact of the 2018 and 2019 increases in minimum contribution rates, and work with stakeholders to build the consensus on which the success of Automatic Enrolment has been based, before committing to a timetable for the proposed changes. In addition, low earners benefit from the rise in the living wage, the increase in the tax threshold and free 15-30 hours childcare support.

Sharing Economy: Personal Savings

Mhairi Black: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support people working in the gig-economy to save for retirement.

Guy Opperman: As set out in the 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment, a large proportion of those working in the gig economy potentially already come within the scope of the Automatic Enrolment framework, if they meet the relevant eligibility rules including age and earnings criteria. The Pensions Regulator has a statutory objective to maximise employer compliance with the automatic enrolment obligations. In addition, the Government set out its vision for the future of the labour market and ambitious plans for implementing the recommendations arising from the 2017 Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices. In its December 2018 Good Work plan the Government committed to legislate to improve the clarity of the employment status tests, reflecting the reality of modern working relationships. We will ensure any changes are also considered in relation to Automatic Enrolment so that there is coherence and clarity for individuals and businesses about who is eligible for automatic enrolment, meaning as many eligible workers as possible can save for retirement. The self-employed are able to opt in to Automatic Enrolment through the NEST Corporation, who have a Public Service Obligation to accept self-employed savers (since March 2018), and a significant number do so.

Self-employed: Personal Savings

Mhairi Black: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support self-employed people to save for retirement.

Guy Opperman: The UK self-employed population is a highly diverse group encompassing an estimate 4.75 million people. Finding effective, durable retirement saving solutions for self-employed individuals is a long-term challenge for our generation. As part of its 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment, the Government committed to test targeted interventions aimed at establishing what works to increase retirement saving amongst the self-employed. Our December 2108 report, ‘Enabling retirement savings for the self-employed: pensions and long-term savings trials’, provided a research and trialling programme, working with partners, to deliver a range of trialling activities from 2019/20. The initial trials will focus on testing whether or not certain types of messaging or marketing interventions can increase the propensity of the self-employed to save in a pension. Later trials will build on the findings and test the scope to make it easier to prompt and/or facilitates contributions through existing systems which many self-employed people use, such as invoicing services or accounting software. Our objective is to use these trialling activities to inform and develop the evidence base, in order to identify effective policy interventions which can then be tested at scale in future. In addition, low earners benefit from the rise in the living wage, the increase in the tax threshold and free 15-30 hours childcare support.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the overall satisfaction rate is among claimants for universal credit (a) full service and (b) live service.

Alok Sharma: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the Question 220801. We no longer differentiate between live and full service as the number of live service cases is reducing rapidly, and because both services operate within the same policy framework.

Department for Work and Pensions: Working Links

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assurances she can provide to sub-contractors delivering Departmental services on behalf of Working Links (Employment) Limited on (a) outstanding money owed to them from Working Links (Employment) Limited and (b) the continuation of contracts held by sub-contractors of that company.

Justin Tomlinson: All subcontractors delivering Departmental services have been issued a letter advising them that the Department is working with Working Links on the current position in relation to current contracts. It also includes details of the Administrator and advises sub-contractors to contact them should there be monies owed to them by Working Links, or if they want to take over all or part delivery of the contract(s).

Universal Credit: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many habitual residency tests have been carried out for universal credit claimants at the Slough Job Centre in each month since April 2018.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department requires owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for universal credit; and if she will review that policy.

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the practicality of requiring the owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for universal credit.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not require owners of limited companies to provide company financial accounts when applying for Universal Credit. Self-employed earnings are reported on a simplified 'cash accounting' basis, which asks for the total income from receipts into the business and details of payments out of the business under defined categories during the assessment period. The requirements were designed to be as simple as possible in order for self-employed claimants to easily report their earnings. The Department has therefore not made an assessment.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sheep Meat: India

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether all sheep meat exported to India under the Government's new agreement announced on 5 December 2018 will be from animals that were stunned before slaughter.

David Rutley: In the Export Health Certificate (EHC) agreed with India there was no mention of stun or non-stun, as is the case with any EHC. However all slaughter of animals for export must strictly comply with EU and UK rules on animal welfare. Any additional requirements, including slaughter methods, is a matter for the importing and exporting parties to agree.   There are many animal health requirements within any EHC, these differ depending on the importing country. It is a document that refers to the origin of the animals that have been slaughtered in approved abattoirs and comply with a number of health requirements, including free from a number of animal diseases. This EHC differs in the respect that the Indian authorities insisted that a long lists of diseases, many of them not notifiable in the UK, be included in the EHC. This requires that owner/farm vet declarations are conveyed to the certifying veterinarian. This is not a straight forward process.   Since the market was opened in December, no exports of sheep meat to India have taken place.

Soaps

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the 7 January 2019 Guardian article entitled Sales of barred soap are up – but is it better at cleaning than a shower gel?, if his Department will make a comparative assessment of changes in the level of use of bars of soap and liquid soap; and whether his Department has plans to use bar rather than liquid soap in its own offices and premises.

George Eustice: The Department currently uses liquid soaps in its washrooms and does not intend to swap to bars of soap. The Department has, however, undertaken a wider review to reduce the use of consumer single use plastics across its office estate. This includes our office cleaning provider using large reusable plastic containers to dispense liquid soap in our washrooms.   We do not plan to make a comparative assessment of changes in the level of use of bars of soap and liquid soap.

Trees: Conservation

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Category A trees with Heritage Tree status there are throughout the UK.

David Rutley: ‘Category A Heritage Tree’ is an industry standard for undertaking arboricultural assessments, as set out in British Standard (BS) 5837 of 2012 on ‘Trees in relation to design, demolition and construction’ policy. As this is an industry standard rather than an official Government one, central Government does not keep records of how many such trees there are. The Government is currently consulting on a ‘Duty to Report’ on tree planting and felling for local government. The consultation closes on 28 February.

Trees: Conservation

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department holds information on the location of protected trees throughout the UK.

David Rutley: The Woodland Trust manages the Ancient Tree Inventory (ATI), which is a database recording over 150,000 ancient, veteran or notable trees across the UK. This is a volunteer database, with verified records, which does not have complete or consistent coverage across the UK. Records for trees protected through Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) are held by local authorities, not by central government. Local planning authorities are also responsible for trees in conservation areas.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme: St Austell and Newquay

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many farmers in St Austell and Newquay constituency have not received an agreement with the Rural Payments Agency after applying to the 2019 Countryside Stewardship Scheme within the qualifying period for 2019.

George Eustice: There were a total of nine applicants in St Austell and Newquay constituency who submitted a valid application for a Countryside Stewardship agreement commencing on 1 January 2019. Of these, four applicants have been offered an agreement. The other five valid applications are being processed towards the stage at which the offer of an agreement can be made. The RPA took on administration of Countryside Stewardship in October 2018 and is continuing to simplify the administration of the scheme as far as possible under the current EU system.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme: St Austell and Newquay

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Countryside Stewardship agreements have been reached (a) in St Austell and Newquay constituency and (b) in the UK since the commencement of that scheme.

George Eustice: There are 36 live Countryside Stewardship agreements in the St Austell and Newquay constituency and 14,406 in England as a whole. Defra operates Countryside Stewardship in England only.

Opium

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what acreage of land in the UK is under cultivation for the legal production of opium poppies.

George Eustice: Defra does not hold any official statistics on the acreage of land under cultivation for the legal production of opium poppies in the UK. This information is collected under the category “crops for aromatic or medicinal use". This category includes plants such as poppies, lavender, chamomile, and plants or parts of plants used for pharmaceutical purposes, perfume manufacture or other aromatic products. As a consequence we are not able to distinguish the area of opium poppies from the other crops that fall into that category.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

Mr Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which stakeholders his Department is consulting on designing the Environmental Land Management schemes.

George Eustice: Since the publication of the 25 Year Environment Plan last year, the Government has embarked on a consulting exercise during which we have had over a dozen regional consultation days with a variety of stakeholders. We also had tens of thousands of online submissions. Since the consultation closed we have been in regular contact with stakeholders and will continue to engage with them in the run up to Environmental Land Management schemes being rolled out over the next few years.

Air Pollution

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing legally binding targets to meet World Health Organisation-recommended limit values for particulate matter by 2030.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West on 14 February 2019 to PQ 219552.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the the Rural Payments Agency will not deal directly with hon. Members' offices over delayed payments to farmers and land owners.

George Eustice: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) established a dedicated MP Helpline in December 2016. The Helpline deals directly with hon. Members’ offices on all aspects of RPA activity. Members’ correspondence to the agency is reviewed at a senior level.   Farmers and landowners can also deal directly with the RPA through their main customer service helpline (03000 200 301). Call handlers can often resolve common queries and will offer a call-back from the team handling the claim if they are unable to resolve more complex queries at the first point of contact.   RPA continue to implement improvements to assist those farmers who cannot be paid straight away.

Fisheries

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to support British fishermen.

George Eustice: Leaving the EU means we will become an independent coastal state, taking back control of our waters for the first time in 40 years and giving UK fishermen a fairer share of fishing opportunities. We have set out our vision for future fisheries policy in the Fisheries White Paper: Sustainable Fisheries for Future Generations, and introduced the Fisheries Bill to create the powers to build a sustainable and profitable fishing industry in the best interests of the whole of the UK and future generations. The Bill enables us to control our waters, set fishing opportunities and manage fisheries for a sustainable and profitable future. Access to waters and fishing opportunities will be on our terms and for the benefit of UK fishermen.

Home Office

Immigrants: EEA Nationals

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether permanent residence cards for EEA nationals will remain valid if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether permanent residence cards will remain valid for people who have those cards on the basis of being the family member of an EEA national if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Caroline Nokes: In either a deal or no deal scenario, permanent residence (and other) documents which confirm a right to reside under Directive 2004/38EC (the Free Movement Directive) will cease to be valid when EU law ceases to apply.However, EU citizens and their family members who have a documented right of permanent residence can exchange this for settled status free of charge.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the level of awareness among non-UK EU citizens living in the UK of the legal requirement to apply for Settled Status.

Caroline Nokes: We have launched a targeted communications campaign to maximise aware-ness and reassure EU citizens of our commitment to protect their rights and entitlements. Activity will increase as we progress through the phased roll out of the scheme.Individuals will have sufficient time to apply for status before the end of the post-exit period.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is his policy to allow third-party payment of the fees for applications for settled status for EU citizens.

Caroline Nokes: As my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister told the House of Commons on 21 January (col. 28) “that we have listened to concerns raised in constituencies, by Members in the House and by user groups, and when we roll out the scheme fully in March, the Government will not charge an application fee to anyone applying under the EU Settlement Scheme. Anyone who has applied during the private or public beta test phases, or who does so, will have their fee reimbursed. Details of the refunds process will be published shortly.”It was a matter for individual organisations or employers to decide whether they wished to pay on an applicant’s behalf, give them the funds to pay, or reimburse the fee.

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what has cost to the public purse was of Operation Kenova to date.

Mr Ben Wallace: The UK Government continues to cooperate fully with the Operation Kenova investigation. Funding for the investigation is a matter for the PSNI and the devolved Department for Justice.

Children in Care: Refugees

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department used to assess the availability of spaces in local authority care for unaccompanied child refugees.

Caroline Nokes: In 2016, the Government conducted a comprehensive consultation with local authorities across the UK to assess their capacity to accept unaccompanied children into their care. The outcome of the consultation led to the Government announcing that it would transfer 480 unaccompanied children to the UK from Europe under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.The Home Office maintains a continual dialogue with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships across the country in order to identify placements for unaccompanied children to fulfil the Government’s commitments.

Crimes of Violence: Homelessness

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment his Department made of the level of violent crime directed at homeless people.

Victoria Atkins: We do not hold relevant data on levels of violent crime directed at homeless people, however in April 2018 the Government published the Serious Violence Strategy which sets out our evidence and analysis of violent crime.The Strategy identifies a range of risk and protective factors that may increase an individual’s involvement in violent crime and the evidence suggests that being homeless is one of the markers for increased risk of both victimisation and perpetration of serious violence and also substance abuse. We also know that the homeless are particularly targeted by county lines gangs.

Fraud: Telephones

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to protect consumers from telephone fraud.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government takes telephone fraud very seriously and continues to in-troduce measures to tackle the problem. Ofcom has introduced new rules on Calling Line Identification (CLI) data, which should help telephone call recipient’s make more informed decisions about whether to accept a call, and to report problem calls to regulators and law enforcement agencies more effectively.The rules, which came into effect in October 2018, mean that Communications Providers are now required, where technically feasible and economically viable, to provide CLI facilities and turn them on by default. Under these rules, Communications Providers must also ensure that, where technically feasible, the CLI Data that is provided with a call includes a valid, dialable, telephone number which uniquely identifies the caller. They must also now take reasonable steps to identify and block calls on which invalid or non-dialable CLI is provided.Separately, the Joint Fraud Taskforce (a coalition between government, industry, law enforcement and the third sector) is leading an ambitious programme of work to prevent fraud. This includes broadening its engagement with the telecommunications sector, to collectively address the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit to commit their crimes.

Asylum: Community Relations

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the  Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps his Department is taking to support the integration of refugee families living in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those that need it – and this Government is committed to ensuring that refugees can take posi-tive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK.The Government response to the consultation on the Integrated Communities Strategy (ICS) and action plan was published on GOV.UK on 9th February. Refugees can access all integration measures in the ICS and have access to mainstream benefits and services. This includes healthcare, education, English language tuition and Job Centre work coaches. The Home Office is working with other Government departments to ensure these services meet the needs of refugees.In addition, the ICS includes commitments to work with civil society and others to increase integration support for all refugees. The measures for refugees focus on four key themes: English language, employment, mental health and information.

Detainees: Compensation

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the amount of compensation paid to people wrongfully detained in immigration detention centres in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: This information is not readily available from the HO management systems, the Home Office is therefore not able to provide this data. To answer this PQ, the Home Office will have to review all compensation payments to people wrongfully detained for the years requested. This will breach the cost limit.However, information on the total amount of compensation paid to people wrongfully detained inclusive of those in Immigration Detention Centres is published in the HASC report (pages 9 & 10) and The Home Office Annual Report and Accounts 17/18 (page 97).Refer to links below for the requested years figures on total compensation paid to people wrongfully detained:HASC Report:https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/home-affairs/Correspondence-17-19/180625_Permanent_Secretary_Immigration%20Enforcement.pdfHO Annual Report and Accounts FY17/18:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727179/6_4360_HO_Annual_report_WEB.PDF

Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre: Crime

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many crimes have been reported at Dungavel Immigration Detention centre in the last five years; and what the nature was of each allegation.

Caroline Nokes: The Government takes the welfare and safety of our detainees very seriously. We do not tolerate any kind of criminal activity in our immigration removal centres, and any allegation of crime is immediately reported to the police for investigation.Reported incidents which are considered crimes are recorded by the police. Over the last 12 months, the only time period for which figures are currently available, supplier management information indicates that 51 incidents which were considered crimes were reported to Police Scotland. Of these 25 were related to fights or alleged assaults, 11 were drug finds, 11 were threats and 4 other incidents including attempted fire starting and attempted escape. This is provisional management information that is subject to change.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of problems with the EU Settlement Scheme application system not recognising diacritical markings, such as umlauts, in EU nationals' names; and what plans he has to resolve those problems.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office is putting in place measures to ensure that the EU Settle-ment Scheme is streamlined, user-friendly and accessible to all prospective applicants. We attempt to eliminate perceived errors translating special char-acters by using technology to read data direct from the passport Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) – the text at the bottom of a passport and passport chip.The MRZ does not include special characters such as diacritical marks and neither does the chip in the document. This is in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard for passports that all EU passports adhere to. The ICAO standard provides translation matrices for each marking to the English alphabet. However, in some cases there are options that can be chosen for the same letter with diacritical marks, so transforming the name back to one with diacritical marks can be complex. We feel it is im-portant that a person’s online status should reflect their true name with dia-critical marks, something that does not happen where physical documents are issued.However, as diacritical marks are not recognised or recorded across govern-ment and other public services (where names are often recorded from the name in the MRZ of the passport), the matching to this data is less affected, though it also depends upon how employers enter the name of the employee.The beta test phases have provided us with a useful opportunity to prove var-ious elements of the scheme functionality and we continue to refine the han-dling of special characters including how this could apply retrospectively to any applicants who may want their data to be corrected.

Deportation: Zimbabwe

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2019 to Question 219410, what assessment he has made of whether it is safe to deport Zimbabwean nationals who have been unsuccessful in claims for asylum since April 2018.

Caroline Nokes: Our Country Policy and Information Note of April 2018 sets out the general position and that all asylum claims are carefully considered on their individual merits.Since April 2018, we have been monitoring the situation in Zimbabwe. However, caselaw has established that a state of civil war and/or civil unrest is not enough, in itself, to provide for a grant of asylum. A per-son needs to show a risk above and beyond those general inherent risks.We are currently in the process of updating the Country Policy and Information Note, incorporating recommendations from a review commissioned by the Independent Advisory Group on Country Information. This will be published in due course. Where additional information is needed, decision makers can ask for bespoke research to be undertaken on a case by case basis.Where a person is unsuccessful in claims for asylum, they are – by definition – considered not to be at risk on return. Removal is only enforced when we and the courts conclude that it is safe to do so, with a safe route of return.

Asylum: Housing

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending the minimum notice period to vacate for refugee acommodation contracts to four weeks.

Caroline Nokes: The notice period to vacate an asylum accommodation property is currently 28 days for those granted a form of leave and 21 days for those who have had their claims refused.There are no plans to increase the notice period to vacate asylum accommo-dation.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Public Records

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many records his Department holds that have reached the time limit for their transfer to the National Archives but have not been transferred.

Nigel Adams: The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales does not hold any records that have reached their time limit for transfer to the National Archives.

Scotland Office

Taxation: Scotland

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the use of tax raising powers available to that Government.

David Mundell: I have regular discussions with Scottish Government ministers on a wide range of issues that are important to Scotland’s economic performance. The Scottish Government must work with us on ensuring that Scotland’s economy thrives, but making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK is setting the wrong signal.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of February 14, 2019 to Question 219297 on Government Departments: Consultants, if he will provide a total government consultancy spend figure for each of the companies listed in his answer for the financial year in which they are listed.

Oliver Dowden: Details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 and wider public sector contracts above the value of £25,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Consultants

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the value of contracts held by his Department with (a) Deloitte, (b) Slaughter and May and (c) Mott MacDonald is in the last two years.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department has not held contracts with any of the three named companies in either of the past two financial years (17/18, 18/19 YTD).

Brexit: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on the Malthouse alternative plan for the backstop.

Mr Robin Walker: Since the Prime Minister met President Juncker on 7 February to begin discussions on how we can address the concerns of Parliament, their respective teams have been holding talks to find a way forward that will work for both sides. She is also continuing engagement with the leaders of the other EU member states, including the Taoiseach.Her message to those leaders, and to the leaders of the EU institutions, is the same: the UK wants to leave the EU as scheduled on 29 March with a guarantee that there will be no hard border in Northern Ireland, there is a majority in Parliament for a revised Withdrawal Agreement, and we need legally-binding changes to the backstop in order to secure that majority.

Department for International Trade

Seafood: Trade Agreements

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans he has to ensure that future trade agreements with (a) Greenland, (b) Iceland, (c) Norway and (d) the Faroe Islands provide (i) those countries with market access for seafood products to the UK and (ii) the UK fleet with continued access to the waters of those countries.

George Hollingbery: The Government is seeking to ensure continuity of the UK’s trade relationships including trade in fisheries products with a number of third countries as shown by the recently agreed Faroe Islands agreement.International fisheries agreements are the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Antidumping Duties: Aluminium

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 177208 on Antidumping Duties: Aluminium, when his Department plans to publish the final report on the trade remedies call for evidence into which existing EU measures will be transitioned once the UK has left the EU.

George Hollingbery: On 24 July 2018, the government published the provisional findings of the trade remedies call for evidence into which existing EU measures will be transitioned. The provisional findings indicate the measures on aluminium foil will be terminated when the UK leaves the EU. No UK producer responded to the call for evidencehttps://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-to-identify-uk-interest-in-existing-eu-trade-remedy-measures Since then, UK producers and interested parties were invited to provide further information which may affect these findings. The government is in the final stages of considering additional information from industry, and will publish the final report shortly.

Antidumping Duties: Aluminium

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 117208 on Anti-dumping Duties: Aluminium, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that anti-dumping duties on aluminium foil will be maintained after the UK leaves the EU.

George Hollingbery: On 24 July 2018, the government published the provisional findings of the trade remedies call for evidence into which existing EU measures will be transitioned. The provisional findings indicate the measures on aluminium foil will be terminated when the UK leaves the EU. No UK producer responded to the call for evidencehttps://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/call-for-evidence-to-identify-uk-interest-in-existing-eu-trade-remedy-measures Since then, UK producers and interested parties were invited to provide further information which may affect these findings. The government is in the final stages of considering additional information from industry, and will publish the final report shortly.

Guernsey: World Trade Organisation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what his policy is on support for an application by Guernsey to become a member of the WTO.

George Hollingbery: The Department for International Trade is actively discussing extension of the UK’s WTO membership with Guernsey. Membership extension would naturally require Guernsey to be fully compliant with the terms of the UK’s WTO membership. No decisions have yet been taken.My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade met with the Chief Minister of Guernsey on 7 February 2019 to discuss the WTO membership extension matter.

Arms Trade: Human Rights

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many sales were conducted by (a) the UK Government and (b) British registered military companies at the Defence and Security Equipment International 2017 to (i) states and (ii) companies registered within those states that appeared on the list of the UK Government’s Human Rights Priority Countries in 2017.

Graham Stuart: The Department does not hold central records of defence and security exports achieved at Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) specifically. DSEI is a defence and security exhibition organised by a commercial events company. DIT DSO’s Official Statistics provide estimates of global defence and security exports, achieved throughout each year, based on orders or sales and are published annually on GOV.UK with the most recent being 2017 figures, published in July 2018.

EU External Trade: Trade Agreements

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which states with which the EU currently has a trade agreement has approved proposals for the UK to remain a party to those agreements during the implementation period.

George Hollingbery: Alongside the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU undertook to notify its treaty partners that the UK is treated as a Member State for the purposes of EU international agreements during the IP. This includes trade agreements. This notification is expected to issue following signature of the Withdrawal Agreement.Discussions with all partner countries have demonstrated a commitment to finding a pragmatic way to ensure continuity of our existing international agreements. A number of countries have already publicly welcomed this approach (Library deposit of 13 September DEP2018-0926 provides a list of countries). Others are, understandably, waiting for the notification to be issued before responding formally. We are working closely with our trading partners to ensure that there would be no disruption to trade as we move into the Implementation Period. Alongside this, the government will continue to do the responsible thing and prepare for all eventualities with partner countries, including a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario.

Shellfish: Exports

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on shellfish exports of the UK leaving the EU (a) without and (b) with a deal; and what plans he has for trade in this sector after the end of any transition period.

George Hollingbery: The UK is seeking a deep and special economic partnership with the EU to ensure no tariffs, fees, charges or quantitative restrictions across all sectors, encompassing the best possible deal for the seafood sector, including for shellfish. The best way to ensure stability and continuity is through the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement.We are working with countries across the world to explore the best ways to develop our trade relationships, including free trade agreements, to ensure that Britain becomes a global leader in free trade once we leave the EU. This will provide greater market access for UK products, including the UK fish and shellfish sectors.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Brexit

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many officials from his Department have been seconded from their primary role to make preparations for the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: As part of the department’s preparations for the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal, over 110 officials have been seconded from their primary role to support EU Exit work. In addition, a significant number of officials have reprioritised their work to include EU Exit work whilst remaining in their primary roles.

World Book Day

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans his Department has to contribute to events celebrating World Book Day in 2019.

Michael Ellis: DCMS has no Departmental plans to celebrate World Book Day in 2019 directly. However, around 90% of local authority public library services in England are participating in World Book Day activities. World Book Day has also put a message in the backs of most of the twelve £1 books taking part in the World Book day campaign to encourage children to join their local library.

Third Sector

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Civil Society Strategy, what progress his Department has made on establishing a regular forum for social enterprises to coordinate relations with government; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening the legal framework for co-operatives.

Mims Davies: The Civil Society Strategy is long term, setting out our vision for government’s work with and for civil society over the next 10 years and beyond. As we said in the Strategy, we recognise the strong demand from the social enterprise sector for a simpler relationship with Government and the proposal to establish a forum for social enterprises remains an important recommendation. Our resources are currently focused on other priorities from the Civil Society Strategy and on preparing for EU exit. In the meantime we continue to engage closely with representatives from the social enterprise sector on matters of mutual interest, including specific recommendations from the Civil Society Strategy. To inform the scope and remit of the forum for social enterprises, we will convene a meeting chaired by the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Crown Representative in due course. The legal framework for co-operatives and community benefit societies is one of the issues we expect the group will wish to place on its agenda.

Northern Ireland Office

Electricity Interconnectors: Northern Ireland

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the timeframe is for the redetermination of the planning application for the Tyrone-Cavan interconnector.

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the effect on the (a) economy and (b) security of supply as a result of the delay in approval for the Tyrone-Cavan interconnector.

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what role the guidance issued under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 will play in the determination of the Tyrone-Cavan interconnector application.

John Penrose: The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 and associated guidance gives greater certainty to enable NI Departments to continue to take decisions in Northern Ireland in the public interest. The redetermination of the planning application is a devolved matter and falls to the Department for Infrastructure. As such, I would encourage you to contact the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure for further information.

EU Grants and Loans: Northern Ireland

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether any aspects of the current INTERREG VA Programme which support cross border environmental activities will be replicated in the new PEACE programme for Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of the Republic of Ireland.

John Penrose: The Government has committed around £300 million to PEACE Plus between 2021 and 2027 to uphold peace, cooperation and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. PEACE Plus will succeed the current PEACE IV and INTERREG VA schemes which have helped promote economic and social progress in Northern Ireland and the border region of Ireland and which will end in 2020. Thematic priorities and future activities have not yet been decided.

Passports: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will meet with the Home Secretary to discuss the long-standing anomaly whereby Northern Ireland residents born in the Irish Republic since 1949 continue to face restrictions on obtaining UK passports.

John Penrose: I am aware of your long-standing interest in this issue and my Department has raised this matter with the Home Office who are responsible for this policy.Under Common Travel Area arrangements British and Irish citizens have the right to enter and remain in the other state without requiring permission.